Border fencing to come up at Indo-Myanmar meeting

The first phase of the proposed Indo-Myanmar border fencing work will be taken up at Moreh town in Manipur, along the porous Indo-Myanmar border as agreed by both the countries at a high level meeting held in September last year.

The fencing works along the Indo-Myanmar border is to be taken up as a part of accelerating the efforts to check movement of militants at the international border, illegal drug trafficking in the north eastern region of the country bordering Myanmar. This is part of various other measures taken up by the Union ministry of home affairs, officials said.

The meeting is to be held between officials of the Survey of India with the Department of Survey, government of Myanmar. The representatives of the Survey of International Boundary will also take part in the meeting, the source added.

The states of Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram have been identified as a transit point for illegal trafficking by the United Nations Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) and International Narcotic Control Board (INCB).

Myanmar, the country sharing its border with northeastern states of India has always been linked with high instances of drug abuse and its opium and heroin production ranks second in the world.

The northeastern states are located at a very strategic point since it shares 1,643 kilometers long border with Myanmar, which is vulnerable and identified route for easy illicit trafficking.

As of present only 52 km out of the 1,643 km stretch of international border with Myanmar is manned by Indian security forces.

Out of the total 1,643 km, Manipur has 398 kilometers. The 25th battalion of the Border Road Task Force has been entrusted for taking up the border fencing at the international border.

The foremost route, which begins at Mandalay, splits northwards at the Tamu-Moreh border crossing and the NH-39 acting as a spring board to Imphal (Manipur) then to Nagaland from where it goes to Assam and is finally shipped to Kolkata and other parts of India.

Another direct route is the bordering area of Noklak and Tobu known as eastern Nagaland, which is unmanned and has been reported to be a silk route for the traffickers.

The traffickers involved are found to be mostly either Manipuri or Nagas who seem to have found it a lucrative business despite the risk involved and the districts of Senapati and Ukhrul and the Sardar hills are reportedly into cultivation.

The Survey of India with its Myanmar counterpart has been carrying out survey and demarcation works for the fencing. Moreh and other parts of the international border are also being fenced since last part of 2006.

The centre is also considering construction of a parallel road along the entire length of Indo-Myanmar border as emphasized by the Planning Commission.

If the drug route at the borders is not properly curtailed, north eastern region could become a major illicit drugs transit point, UNDCP and INCB reports had warned. It also stated that true to its prediction on the report published in 2001, the states of NE especially Manipur and Nagaland are fast emerging to be an epicenter engaged in narcotics business.

There is a direct correlation between proximity to the border and drug abuse, the UNDCP said. Drug flow through the boundary has fueled the rise of HIV/AIDS epidemic in the NE turning it into a high-risk zone.