Rs 31,000 crore to be spent to fence 1,643 km border with Myanmar

The entire 1,643 km porous India-Myanmar border, known for the smuggling of arms, ammunition and narcotics, will be fenced at a cost of Rs 31,000 crore, sources said on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said fencing work had been completed in 30 km of the border, which he termed the root cause of the ethnic violence in Manipur.

The Cabinet Committee on Security has, in principle, approved the construction of border fencing and roads along the 1,643-km international border between India and Myanmar at an approximate cost of Rs 31,000 crore, sources said.

About 10 km of fencing has already been completed near Moreh and work is underway to fence another 21 km of the border in other areas of Manipur.

The India-Myanmar border passes through Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.

The Central government has already scrapped the the India-Myanmar Free Movement Regime (FMR), which allows people residing close to the border to venture 16 km into each other's territory without any documents. It was implemented in 2018 as part of India's Act East policy.

Home Minister Shah has been regularly reviewing the security situation in Manipur and necessary actions are being ensured, the sources said.

Two battalions of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have already been deployed in Manipur. In addition, around 200 companies (about 100 personnel in one company) of central police forces were deployed in the restive states.

The Manipur government has started using 25 mobile vans as shops to provide essential commodities at fair prices to the general public. These shops on wheels are operating in all districts of Manipur, sources said.

As a new initiative, the Kendriya Police Kalyan Bhandars (KPKB, police canteens) have been opened from Tuesday to provide essential commodities to the people of Manipur at fair prices, they said.

In addition to the 21 existing such police canteens, 16 new stores are being opened. Of the 16 new police canteens, eight will be in the valley districts of Manipur, and the remaining eight in hilly areas.

Ethnic violence started in Manipur on May 3 last year after a tribal solidarity march in the hill districts of the state to protest against the majority Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status.

Since then, over 220 people belonging to both the Kuki and Meitei communities and security personnel have been killed in the continuing violence.