2 crore illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in India
Citing statistics recorded over the last one year, the government stated in the Rajya Sabha that over 2 crore immigrants from Bangladesh were living illegally in India. This is a 67% increase in the number of illegal immigrants from that recorded in 2004 under the UPA government. Officials added that Assam and West Bengal were the most severely affected by the illegal immigration issue.
- About the India-Bangladesh border
- Border issues
- India-Bangladesh barrier
- Project delayed several times
- Bangladesh to fence its borders with India, Myanmar
- Link roads all along the border
- Fence to be erected first on Bangladesh-Myanmar border
- Indian fencing helps us too: Gen. Aziz Ahmed
- 2 crore illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in India
About the India-Bangladesh border
The India-Bangladesh border or International Border (IB) is the international border running between India and Bangladesh; the 4,096-kilometer-long land border is the world's fifth-longest. Indian states Assam, Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya, and West Bengal are along the boundary. Bangladesh's Khulna, Mymensingh, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Sylhet, and Chittagong are situated along the IB. India and Bangladesh ratified the 'Land Boundary Agreement' on 7 May 2015.
Border issues
The Indo-Bangladesh border is used as a route for smuggling food, livestock, drugs, medicines, etc. Illegal Bangladeshi immigrants cross the border to enter India. To control the illegal immigration, India enforced the shoot-on-sight policy in 2011.
India-Bangladesh barrier
India started the phase-I of the Indo-Bangladesh fencing in 1989 and 854km were fenced. The phase-II began in 2003 that involved 2,429 km of the 4,096km-long border. The phase-III of the project was in Assam; it included replacing old, damaged fencing constructed in phase-I. By Mar'10, about 861km-long fencing had been replaced; by the end of 2010, India completed fencing 3,300km of the border.
Project delayed several times
The project has been delayed several times. There is no precise date of completion given; it is expected to be completed by 2017. Once completed, the Border Security Force will patrol the barrier. The primary reason behind the barrier is to prevent drug smuggling.
Bangladesh to fence its borders with India, Myanmar
Major General Aziz Ahmed, Director General of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), said they have decided to erect barbed wire fencing along their border with India and Myanmar. While India is trying to fence the Indo-Bangladesh border in Assam completely, Bangladesh approved a project to build a 282km-long road along its borders. Bangladesh shares a 4,906km-long border with India and a 271km-long border with Myanmar.
Link roads all along the border
Major General Aziz Ahmed stated, "In principle, it has also been decided (by the Bangladeshi Government) to have link roads all along the border like India is having which facilitates BSF activities and those of the Myanmarese border guarding forces."
Fence to be erected first on Bangladesh-Myanmar border
Major General Ahmed said it was unfortunate Bangladesh had not developed the two basic needs of barbed wire fencing and link roads till now. He also said the government is actively considering the two projects. He added projects like these require a lot of money, but the government still approved them; the fence will be first erected on the Bangladesh-Myanmar border.
Indian fencing helps us too: Gen. Aziz Ahmed
Gen. Ahmed stated India erected a fence along 79% of the India-Bangladesh border, which would help Bangladesh to control the cross-border crimes indirectly. He added consent to the BSF for the fencing is given 'promptly', except in some cases where the construction is close to the zero line. He said BSF and BGB are creating a database of offenders along the frontier.
2 crore illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in India
Citing statistics recorded over the last one year, the government stated in the Rajya Sabha that over 2 crore immigrants from Bangladesh were living illegally in India. This is a 67% increase in the number of illegal immigrants from that recorded in 2004 under the UPA government. Officials added that Assam and West Bengal were the most severely affected by the illegal immigration issue.
