Rajnath to meet CMs of states bordering Bangladesh on Thursday

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will meet the Chief Ministers of five states, situated on the India-Bangladesh border, on Thursday in Kolkata on the issues of Rohingyas and influx of Bangladeshis and illegal cross-border trade, official sources said on Monday.

He will leave Delhi on Tuesday evening and chair the meeting with the Chief Ministers and Home Ministers of West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura, a Home Ministry official said.

It would be the fourth in a series of meeting chaired by the Home Minister. Earlier, Rajnath Singh met with the Chief Ministers of states bordering Pakistan, China, and Myanmar.

Strategies to handle the Rohingyas and Bangladeshi refugees, apart from cross-border smuggling of fake Indian currency, narcotics, cattle and other illegal activities will be discussed.

As per Home Ministry's estimate, there are around 40,000 Rohingya in India, including 5,700 in Jammu. Only 16,000 of them are said to have registered themselves with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

As much as 2,217 km of the India-Bangladesh border is in West Bengal, 262 km in Assam, 443 km in Meghalaya, 856 km in Tripura, and 180 km in Mizoram.

The Chief Secretaries and Directors General of Police of the states concerned and senior Home Ministry officials along with those of Assam Rifles, security agencies and Border Security Force chief are likely to be present in the December 7 meeting.

Rajnath Singh will also inaugurate Thapa indoor sport complex and swimming pool at Dimapur in Nagaland on December 8 before returning to Delhi the same day.

--IANS

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