Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Thursday said the state government is continuously monitoring the Indo-Bangladesh border and remains on high alert, asserting that while the border is porous in nature, there is at present nothing major to be concerned about, even as all agencies are fully prepared to respond to any situation. Meghalaya shares nearly 440 kilometres of international border with Bangladesh, a reality that, the Chief Minister said, necessitates constant vigilance, close coordination with central agencies and a state of preparedness at all times.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said, “So, we have been continuously monitoring the Indo Bangladesh borders at Meghalaya. The state is sharing around 440 kms of International border, which Sangma calls Porus but maintained that after having meeting with BSF, Intelligence Bureau, State Police and others felt as of now there is nothing major to be concerned about and obviously, he said the government of Meghalaya have to be very very alert and have to be prepared in every possible way, thats what the government is doing.”
Emphasising that border security is primarily under the Government of India, Sangma underlined the role of the state in ensuring coordination and ground-level preparedness, while refraining from making absolute claims on security. “Border area always porus and obviously for me to say that it’s secure or not secure it’s not for my level to comment as Government of India is involved in that but as a state I can tell you that all steps are being taken (to keep border secure). The government of Meghalaya, the BSF and all the agencies are very alert. All the different agencies we sat together on December 24th BSF, IB and others were there and we discussed the security matter at the border. We have been continuously monitoring the borders , therefore, as of now we have seen that there is nothing major to be concerned about and obviously we have to be very very alert and we have to be prepared in every possible way, thats what we are doing.”
The Chief Minister also highlighted the status of border fencing, noting that while most of the 440-kilometre stretch has been fenced, about 40 kilometres remain pending across select locations, primarily in West Jaintia Hills and South Garo Hills districts. According to Sangma, progress in these areas has been affected by multiple challenges, including population-related concerns, land acquisition issues and ongoing court cases.
“We are taking necessary steps… I had a review about four months back and most of the cases were almost resolved. As I said some of them are even having Court cases, specially the West Jaintia Hills section, which is the largest, which is left unfenced,” he said.
Sangma added that the Government of India is closely following up on the matter and that he has remained in constant touch with authorities in New Delhi. “Government of India has been following up on that and I have been in touch with Delhi. We are moving very aggressively on that and I hope that things should be completed soon,” he added.
