Manipur CM N. Biren Singh lays stress on fencing along Myanmar border

 IMPHAL: Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh held a meeting with a senior Border Roads Organization (BRO) official on Monday and discussed the ongoing fencing work along the India-Myanmar border with the state, officials said.

The Chief Minister, while discussing the progress of the fencing along the Myanmar border with BRO's Additional Director General (East), P.K.H. Singh, said that the border areas must be fenced and guarded effectively to protect the state from various forms of external threats.

"P.K.H. Singh, Additional Director General Border Roads (East), called on me at my residential office today. We had a fruitful discussion on the progress of development and roadway construction in the state for improved connectivity and overall growth in various sectors. I am also pleased to learn about the progress of the ongoing fencing activity at the border areas to protect the state from various forms of external threats," the Chief Minister wrote on X.

The Chief Minister recently also held a high-level meeting with senior officials of the BRO and requested that they expedite the erection of border fencing along the India-Myanmar border in Manipur.

The ethnic strife devastated Manipur, which has around 400 km of unfenced international border with Myanmar.

In wake of the rise in illegal immigrants and drug smuggling from neighbouring countries, safeguarding our porous borders has become an urgent necessity, Singh told the media.

Currently, work is in progress to erect fencing on 100 km of the 400 km India-Myanmar border in Manipur.

Singh had earlier requested the Home Ministry cancel the 16-kilometre free movement regime (FMR) on either side of the India-Myanmar border.

FMR allows people residing on both sides of the India-Myanmar border to venture 16 km deep into each other's territory without any document.

Meanwhile, following the request of the state government, the Centre has recently extended the time frame for capturing biographic and biometric details of Myanmar nationals who illegally entered Manipur to March next year.

Manipur has been caught in a devastating ethnic strife since May 3, and the BJP government in the state has blamed illegal migrants from Myanmar for creating problems, including drug smuggling in the state.

The Manipur government cabinet sub-committee for the identification of illegal immigrants has found as many as 2,187 illegal immigrants had taken shelter in Manipur after the military Junta took power in Myanmar in February 2021.

The state government has set up detention centres to accommodate such Myanmar nationals. (IANS)

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