The construction of barbed wire fencing along the Bangladesh-India border in Sabroom panchayat in South Tripura district was stopped once again after the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) flagged objection on Wednesday.
The Sabroom sub-divisional magistrate, Tarit Kanti Chakma on Wednesday imposed restrictions on public gatherings within a 500-meter radius of the Sabroom border after the flag meeting between both the BSF and BGB remained inconclusive.
Police said there were some problems regarding the construction of the barbed wire fence in the area. Therefore, construction work on the border has currently been closed.
“There is both fear and anger in the minds of the locals over the incident in the Ailamara border area in Sabroom sub-division,” a police official said.
Also Read: Tripura: Barbed wire fencing stopped in patches after Bangladesh flags objection
According to local sources, the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) does not want to accept India’s plan to build a barbed-wire fence on the border. The BSF and the BGB held a flag meeting at Zero Point, which was attended by administrative officers including BSF DIG and the South District Superintendent of Police to defuse tension along the border.
The sub-divisional magistrate imposed restrictions on any kind of gatherings within a radius of 500 metres of the border. The local people were forced to close their markets and shops, after which they protested against the decision.
On January 12, the Chief Secretary, Tripura was informed by the Ministry of Home Affairs that the remaining 5.58 km border fencing work in the town of Sabroom to be completed by February.
Although the border fencing work from pillar number 2217/1RI to 2217/3RI was started on January 15, it was soon stopped due to the obstruction of the BGB.
Also Read: Tripura: India-Bangladesh border officials to adopt zero tolerance on trans-border crime
On January 7, the inspector-general of BSF, Tripura frontier Sushanta Nath said border-fencing work in some areas was stopped after objections raised by the BGB.
“Talks at various levels were going on to complete the fencing work in disputed areas, including those having populations along the international border. It is expected that we would shortly receive the no-objection certificate (NOC),” Nath had said.
During the IG-level meeting in November last year, both border guarding forces resolved to strengthen their ties by addressing various border issues of bilateral interests like trans-border crimes including smuggling of narcotics and other contraband items.
