Amit Shah reiterates stand to fence Indo-Myanmar border ‘Impenetrable borders’ in the pipeline

OSR/NDTV
IMPHAL, Feb 6 : Reaffirming the stand of the Centre "to build impenetrable borders," Union Home Minister Amit Shah has once again said that the entire 1643-kilometer-long Indo-Myanmar border will be fenced.
Amit Shah also said that a patrol track will be paved along the border areas to facilitate better surveillance.
Notably, this is the second time that the Union Home Minister has brought up the matter of fencing the Indo-Myanmar border this year.
On January 20, Amit Shah  had stated that India’s border with Myanmar will be fenced like the Indo-Bangladesh border, and the existing Free Movement Regime (FMR) between the two countries will be scrapped.
The announcement comes days after Chief Minister N Biren Singh said that the Central Government will take some important decisions in the interests of the people of Manipur after meeting Amit Shah at the National capital.
"The Modi Government is committed to building impenetrable borders. It has decided to construct a fence along the entire 1,643-kilometre-long Indo-Myanmar border. To facilitate better surveillance, a patrol track along the border will also be paved," Union Home Minister wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
"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.," the post continued .
The post of Amit Shah, however, didn't mention anything about the Free Movement Regime (FMR).
After meeting the Home Minister on February 3, Chief Minister N Biren Singh wrote on X that the Centre "is set to take some important decisions in the interests of the people of Manipur."
The Meiteis have attributed alleged unchecked entry of illegal immigrants from Myanmar using the Free Movement Regime (FMR) and lead to the rapid increase of illegal immigrants as one of the factors behind the current ethnic clash in the State.
The Kuki-Zo tribes refute this allegation, and point at Mr Singh, who is from the BJP, for inciting fear of a demographic invasion among the Meiteis to draw their political support.
The FMR, which in its current form enables entry without visa and passport, began as a system - after Independence - to allow tribes who share familial, social and ethnic ties on both sides of the border to keep in touch with their people. The Centre is considering ending the FMR, a move that Nagaland and Mizoram object as kindred tribes live across the border.
However, with pro-democracy insurgents fighting the Myanmar junta right across the border, the Centre seems keen on setting up a minimum form of a physical barrier along the border to address concerns of Indian citizens living near the border.
Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, the Minister of State for External Affairs, has also backed the Centre's plan to fence the India-Myanmar border. "Keeping the borders secure is the Nation's prime duty. The western sector is well-guarded and fenced, so is mostly the border with Bangladesh. On the Myanmar border, there has been a general view for a long time that the areas have been thriving with people from many communities with little problem," Mr Singh told NDTV on January 7.
"But the situation today is such that boundary fencing is a must. Everyone in Bharat must keep National security as their first priority. So border fencing should be done before working on border management. Both are separate matters," the MP from Inner Manipur Constituency said.