Rohingya influx: Govt committed to protecting borders, says Rajnath Singh

With influx of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis becoming major concerns, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Wednesday the government is committed to securing the country's borders with all neighbouring countries.

Singh will chair a meeting of chief ministers of states bordering Bangladesh in Kolkata tomorrow.

"The Centre is committed to securing India's border with all neighbouring countries," he said before leaving for Kolkata.

The meeting, called by the home minister, would discuss the influx of Rohingya and Bangladeshi immigrants,and explore ways to check it, aHome Ministry official said.

Chief ministers of West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram are expected to attend the meeting.

India shares a 4,096 km-long border with Bangladesh of which2,217 km falls in West Bengal, 262 km in Assam, 443 km inMeghalaya, 856 km in Tripura and 180 km in Mizoram.

This would be the fourth meeting of the chief ministers ofstates, which share international borders, called by the homeminister.

Three separate meetings of chief ministers of states sharing borders with Pakistan, China and Myanmar, were heldearlier.

The meeting in Kolkata is also expected to chalk out plans on how to check cross-border smuggling of fake Indiancurrency notes, narcotics and other illegal activities, theofficial said.

According to an official estimate, around 36,000 Rohingyas are currentlyliving in various parts of India.

Director General of BSF K K Sharma had said last week his troops apprehended 87 Rohingya Muslims along the Indo-Bangla border since the beginning of the current year till October 31, of whom 76 were sent back to Bangladesh.

Nearly 9-10 lakh Rohingya Muslims are estimated to have migratedto Bangladesh from Myanmar due to alleged persecution by the military, and the possibility of a spill over into India cannot be ruled out, he had said.

Illegal immigration from Bangladesh has also been a major cause of concernfor the north-eastern states and West Bengal for many yearsnow, another Home Ministry official said.