IMPHAL: Home Minister Amit Shah announced on Tuesday the Centre’s decision to erect a fence along the entire 1,643-km India-Myanmar border. This initiative aims to bolster surveillance by establishing a patrol track, addressing conflicts between various tribes in Manipur.
Shah, taking to microblogging site X, reiterated the Modi government’s commitment to fortifying India’s borders, stating, “To facilitate better surveillance, a patrol track along the border will also be paved.”
Manipur shares 398 km of its border with Myanmar, with the Centre having already fenced a 10 km segment in the Moreh sector of Tengnoupal district.
Shah highlighted ongoing pilot projects employing a Hybrid Surveillance System (HSS) to fence 1 km each in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.
“In addition to the existing 10 km fenced in Moreh, Manipur, approval has been granted for approximately 20 km of fencing in Manipur, with work set to commence soon,” Shah added.
This announcement follows Chief Minister N Biren Singh’s recent meeting with Shah in New Delhi, where Singh emphasised the necessity of crucial decisions for Manipur’s welfare.
The Manipur government has consistently advocated for border fencing to curb illegal immigration, narcotics trafficking, and cross-border terrorism, particularly amid political unrest in Myanmar.
Manipur has also called for scrapping the free movement regime (FMR), allowing people to travel 16 km into each other’s territory without travel documents. FMR has been identified as facilitating illegal immigration and citizenship fraud.