- By Abhirupa Kundu
- Tue, 06 Feb 2024 07:58 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
The Central Government has decided to construct a fence along the entire 1643-kilometer-long Indo-Myanmar border to enhance border security and facilitate better surveillance, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced on Tuesday. Lauding the Modi government's commitment to building impenetrable borders, Shah said that out of the total border length, a 10 km stretch in Moreh, Manipur, has already been fenced.
"The Modi government is committed to building impenetrable borders. It has decided to construct a fence along the entire 1643-kilometer-long Indo-Myanmar border. To facilitate better surveillance, a patrol track along the border will also be paved. Out of the total border length, a 10 km stretch in Moreh, Manipur, has already been fenced. Furthermore, two pilot projects of fencing through a Hybrid Surveillance System (HSS) are under execution. They will fence a stretch of 1 km each in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. Additionally, fence works covering approx 20 km in Manipur have also been approved, and the work will start soon," Shah said in a post on the social media platform 'X'.
Officials, privy to the development, had earlier indicated that the Central government is mulling terminating the Free Movement Regime (FMR) with Myanmar in an effort to curb the influx of illegal migrants and insurgents.
The plan is part of the consideration to end a point of contention as local residents complain that the FMR policy has become a major subject of contention as it is often misused and facilitates "illegal immigration, drug and arms trafficking". Manipur government as well as other northeast states facing the issue has also raised the matter with the Central government earlier.
The 1,643-km-long India-Myanmar border, spanning Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh, currently operates under the FMR, which permits individuals living near the India-Myanmar border to travel 16 km into each other's territories without a visa. Initiated in 2018, the FMR policy was a component of India's Act East policy.