Border killing, fencing high on agenda

The 55th border conference at the director general level between the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) will commence today in New Delhi.

This year’s conference will focus on various issues, including killings, detentions and abductions of Bangladeshis by BSF, BGB said in a release yesterday.

The four-day conference will also discuss measures to prevent smuggling of various types of drugs, weapons, ammunition, and other prohibited items from India into Bangladesh.

Additionally, the conference will address the prevention of illegal border crossings, particularly efforts to stop forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals from entering Bangladesh through the Indian border, in violation of international boundary laws, the press release added.

cussion include halting the construction of unauthorised structures, including barbed-wire fences within 150 yards of the border; establishing a proper water treatment facility to remove waste from four canals flowing from Agartala towards Akhaura; opening the mouth of Rahimpur Canal to connect with the Kushiyara River in Zakiganj; exchanging information on the possible locations and activities of regional armed separatist groups; and ensuring the effective implementation of the Coordinated Border Management Plan (CBMP) for improved border management and conflict resolution.

The conference will also focus on enhancing bilateral relations and fostering mutual trust and goodwill, the release said.

The DG level talks is taking place amid tensions between the BGB and BSF, over the constructions of barbed wire fences within 150 yards of the border.

On January 12, Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said that due to BSF’s recent fencing activities, tensions arose in five border areas, including Chapainawabganj, Naogaon, Lalmonirhat, and the Tin Bigha Corridor.

The adviser said India has already fenced 3,271 kilometres of the 4,156-kilometer-long border with Bangladesh, leaving approximately 885 kilometres unfenced.

On January 29, the home adviser said that Bangladesh will speak in a “different tone” during the border conference between the BGB-BSF DG-level talks.

A 14-member Bangladeshi delegation, led by the BGB Director Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui,will participate in the conference.

The Bangladeshi delegation will include senior BGB officials as well as representatives from the Chief Adviser’s Office, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Shipping, the Land Record and Survey Department, and the Joint Rivers Commission.

On the other hand, a 13-member Indian delegation, led by the BSF Director General Daljit Singh Chaudhary, will take part in the conference.

The Indian delegation will include senior BSF officials along with representatives from India’s Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of External Affairs.

BSF is likely to raise the issue of attacks on its personnel by “armed miscreants” from Bangladesh, reports our Delhi correspondent.

The talks, which were originally scheduled to be held in November last year, would focus on resolving the impasse over proposed construction of single-row fence by India to close gaps along Indo-Bangladesh border.

BSF recently had to suspend erection of the single-row fence within 150 yards of the border at two points – in Malda and Dakshin Dinajpur district of West Bengal – after BGB raised objections.

The border conference will formally conclude on February 20. The Bangladeshi delegation will return home on the same day following the conclusion of the conference.

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