India raises 16 new BSF battalions, chopper bases along Bangla border
Abdur Rahman Khan
Bangladesh's closest neighbour, India, has not stopped killing unarmed citizens along the border despite repeated requests from Bangladesh side and official commitments made by Indian authorities. 
'It is the BSF which opens fire which results in Bangladesh's unarmed people being killed. That is where our concerns are,' said Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) Director General Major General Rafiqul Islam at the end of a five-day biannual border coordination conference in New Delhi between the BGB and the BSF last month. He said Bangladesh wanted the BSF to follow 'rules of engagement, which are internationally accepted'.
BSF Director General Raman Srivastava responded to Dhaka's concerns saying that India was introducing non-lethal weapons, primarily to avoid casualties along the India-Bangladesh border.
However, BSF DG's commitment to provide non-lethal weapon to his forces has not been fulfilled by Indian authorities. But Bangladesh has provided its border guards with mere batons to face the bullets in guarding her sovereignty.
Taking the advantage of friendship with the Awami League government, Delhi has initiated a series of mega plans for increasing vigil along the 4,095 km international border with Bangladesh, including raising of new battalions of the Border Security Force (BSF), creation of helicopter bases, construction of a new frontier headquarters of the BSF etc.
According to The Assam Tribune, the Inspector General (Operations) of BSF, H Desai said last week that the process of raising 16 new battalions of the border guarding force has started and the new additions to the force would be used exclusively for increasing vigil along the international border with Bangladesh. He said that the process of raising new battalions is likely to be completed by end of this year.
Desai, who is holding additional charge of IG, Assam-Meghalaya frontier, said that the new battalions would be deployed in the vulnerable patches along the international border, including the riverine border areas. He said that the riverine international border in West Bengal, Assam, Mizoram and Tripura are considered most vulnerable and the other patches along the border have also been identified for deployment of the forces to improve border management.
The new frontier headquarter of the BSF, headed by an officer of the rank of IG, would start functioning in Guwahati from July or August this year. He said that the new frontier headquarter would look into the international border in the Dhubri sector of Assam up to Coochbehar. At present, the frontier headquarter in Shillong is looking after the Assam-Meghalaya sector and after the establishment of the new frontier headquarter, the Shillong office would exclusively look into the international border in Meghalaya. A new office of the DIG of the BSF has also been established in Jowai in Meghalaya.
Helicopter bases
To augment use of helicopters by the personnel of the border guarding force in difficult terrain, the Government of India has sanctioned creation of helicopter bases of the force in the Northeast. One such base has already been created in Tripura and another base would be created in Guwahati. Desai said that the BSF has already been using helicopters to provide supplies to the border outposts located in the remote areas, but with the establishment of the helicopter bases, the force would be able to make more frequent use of choppers whenever required.
The Government of India has also sanctioned installation of floodlights all along the border with Bangladesh, which will be a great boost to the BSF personnel deployed along the Indo-Bangladesh border. India's Border Management Wing of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), is monitoring the process of installation of floodlights and the BSF is providing the required support to the personnel engaged in the job. Back-up generators would be provided to ensure that the floodlights function even in case of power cuts.
BSF IG Desai further revealed that the relation between the BSF and the Bangladesh Border Guards improved considerably with the holding of regular meetings and hoped that the joint survey to settle the disputes would be completed soon. The process of installation of "single fencing" in areas where the fencing cannot be constructed 150 yards within the Indian territory also started in patches of the border in consultation with the Bangladesh authorities.
It may be mentioned here that India has 4,095 kilometres of border with Bangladesh, of which 2,216 kilometres are in West Bengal, 856 kilometres in Tripura, 443 kilometres in Meghalaya, 318 kilometres in Mizoram and 262 kilometres are in Assam.
Meanwhile, another report published in The Assam Tribune last week reveals that differences with Bangladesh over "areas under adverse possession" in the Meghalaya sector of India continues to persist while talks to resume the joint border survey remains uncertain. It has been close to a month that the two sides agreed to talk and frame modalities and begin the stalled joint survey of the remaining areas under adverse possession.
The major point of difference is in nine areas which is "adversely held by India" and claimed by Bangladesh. The nine areas include, Pyrdiwah, Lyngkhat, Amki-Amjalong, Ranghong, Naljiri, Tamabil, Kurinala and Muktapur mostly in East Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills districts of Meghalaya and Sylhet district in Bangladesh.
India and Bangladesh have so far surveyed 80 per cent of the International border. A large tract of this area has been fenced. Survey and subsequent sealing of the rest of the border would help India tackle cross border insurgency, smuggling and other illegal activities more efficiently. "There is no progress to start the joint border survey in the Meghalaya sector," an Indian survey official said.
The joint border survey started last year after a mutually agreed understanding between the two neighbours. Survey work of Lobacheera, a tea growing area, held in adverse possession of Bangladesh was completed, although details are yet to be exchanged between the two nations. But, the survey work was stopped thereafter on December 23 amidst claims and counter-claims by Indian and Bangladeshi surveyors that border guards were interfering in the survey works. After a hiatus of over three months, Bangladesh's Directorate of Land Record and Survey initiated the talks to resume the stalled joint survey on April 5 this year. But, so far the talks have been fruitless.
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