Author: K Anurag in Guwahati
Publication: Rediff.com
Date: January 6, 2009
URL: http://www.rediff.com/news/2009/jan/06assam-parties-seek-deadline-on-border-fencing.htm
Opposition parties in Assam assembly on Tuesday
raised a storm over inordinate delay in complete the fencing along the 263
km India-Bangladesh border in the state.
The parties demanded that the government set
a deadline to complete the fencing work in the interest of national security
given that the porous border is allegedly being used on terror mongers to
infiltrate the country.
The opposition called upon the Congress government
in Assam to urge the central government to show urgency in resolving border
disputes with Bangladesh to facilitate completion of fencing work.
Opposition members in the assembly pointing
out that even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, during his visit to the region
after January 1 serial blasts in Guwahati, had underlined the need to accelerate
the fencing work along the India-Bangladesh border and said that shouldn't
be any excuse to delay completion of the fencing work along the porous border
areas.
The porous sectors along the India-Bangladesh
border have been in focus of late with security establishment in the country
suspecting that it was being used by anti-India forces to infiltrate terrorists
to attack different parts of the country.
The government of India is committed under
Assam Accord that was signed in 1985 between the Centre and leaders of Assam
agitation against illegal Bangladeshi nationals swarming the state. The border
fencing work was in fact started over a decade ago but hasn't been completed
yet.
