Tag: Myanmar border

  • India To Fence Entire 1,643 Km Border With Myanmar, Says Home Minister Amit Shah |

    New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced on Tuesday that the government of India has decided to fence the whole 1,643 km border with Myanmar. He said that this would enhance the surveillance along the border, and a patrol track would also be laid. Shah asserted that the Modi government is dedicated to creating unbreachable borders. He said that out of the total border length, a 10 km section in Moreh, Manipur, has been fenced already.

    He also said that two pilot projects using a Hybrid Surveillance System (HSS) are in progress. They will fence 1 km each in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. Moreover, he said that fence works for about 20 km in Manipur have been sanctioned, and they will commence soon.

    The government has also initiated the ‘Vibrant Village’ programme for the border villages of India. An official said that previously, villages located in the border areas were regarded as the country’s last villages, but that view has changed.

    Now, according to the government of India’s policy, these villages are the first villages near the borders.

    Prime Minister Modi has already stated that when the sun rises in the east, its first ray reaches a border village and when the sun sets, the village on this side gets the benefit of its last ray.

    The latest move is deemed important given the vulnerability and threats of the 1,643 km unfenced India-Myanmar border covering Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram.

    In fact, except for a 10-km section in Manipur, the India-Myanmar border through challenging terrains like hills and forests is unfenced. The Indian security forces face a hard time dealing with the challenges posed by the extremist groups that conduct hit-and-run operations from their concealed bases in the Chin and Sagaing regions of Myanmar.

    The inward smuggling of drugs and outward smuggling of wildlife body parts across the borders with Myanmar has also been one of the major worries for India.

    The catalyst for the decision to erect fencing is also the clash that erupted between the dominant Meitei and the tribal Kuki-Zo communities in Manipur on May 3, 2023.

    Also, over the last decade, the Manipur government has been expressing concern over the “influx” of Myanmar nationals. Amid the violence in Manipur, a few hundred Myanmar nationals were found seeking shelter in the state to flee a civil war in their country.

    In September 2023, Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh had attributed the ethnic violence to the free movement of Myanmar nationals into India and urged the Ministry of Home Affairs to terminate the Free Movement Regime (FMR), which had been suspended on April 1, 2020 during the Covid-19 lockdown.

    The suspension was prolonged after the military coup in Myanmar in February 2021.

  • Elation as cooking gas arrives in remote Arunachal town bordering Myanmar

    Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: Cooking gas has wended its way to the “disconnected” Vijaynagar circle of Arunachal Pradesh on the Myanmar border, 57 years after the first Indane LPG connection in India was introduced on October 22, 1965 in Kolkata.

    Two days ago, an agency, based in the Miao subdivision of Changlang district, delivered LPG cylinders to 15 families in Vijaynagar, 157 km away. 

    Minister Kamlung Mossang said the service fulfilled a long-felt need of the people.

    “They rely entirely on firewood for cooking and they faced a lot of hardship,s especially during the rainy season. The government is committed to the well-being of the people in each and every corner of the state,” Mossang claimed, adding. “With the arrival of road infrastructure, Vijaynagar will soon get a facelift.”

    Antu Ngemu, the gas dealer, said the consumers were overjoyed. Nearly 500 others applied for the LPG connection but their documents are yet to reach the agency.

    “We haven’t been able to extend the service to them due to issues, including logistics and documentations. Even for one bank transaction, you have to wait for several days,” Antu said.

    Usina Yobin said her father was so ecstatic that he called her up to break the news of the arrival of the red cylinders.

    “He received the cylinders, not the oven which will be delivered soon, but that couldn’t take away his joy,” Usina told The New Indan Express from Jairampur in the district where she was married off in 2019.

    The BSNL arrived in Vijaynagar in 2020 but one will get through only if lucky. This reporter could not reach any of the LPG consumers despite multiple attempts.

    After her wedding, Usina had to walk for over 100 km and five days along with her husband and others until reaching a road where she hopped into a car to go to his house. While they walked, they had to take shelter at the houses of villagers.

    “Life is very difficult in Vijaynagar. The locals will walk for 15-20 km to go to a forest to collect firewood,” she said.

    Spread across 8,000 sq km, Vijaynagar was discovered in 1961 by the Assam Rifles during an expedition “Srijit II”. It was carried out under the leadership of Major General AS Guraya, the then Inspector General of the country’s oldest paramilitary force. He had named the valley after his son, Vijay.

    Some 4,400 locals are prisoners of geography. A finger-like protrusion surrounded on three sides by Myanmar and on one side by Namdapha Tiger Reserve, the Vijaynagar circle is one of the remotest locations in India.

    For decades, helicopters were the only mode of transport. Now, vehicles have started carrying supplies, thanks to a road. The 157-km long project, which will connect Vijaynagar with Miao, is nearing completion. It takes around seven hours to reach Vijaynagar from Miao.

    “Nearly 90% of the road is complete. Only blacktopping is left. It’s a GSB (granular sub base) road for 130 km. That area is prone to landslides, so disruptions are common,” District Magistrate Sunny K Singh said.

    There is an off-grid power system but it does not function regularly as Vijaynagar witnesses rains throughout the year. Three-four years ago, the rural households were electrified under Saubhagya scheme. The batteries have drained out since.

    “We are going to start a 50 KW hydropower plant in March next year. It will cater to Vijaynagar. We will also do something for (adjoining) Gandhinagar,” Singh said.

    “Earlier, the locals were required to store ration. Porters would bring the essentials (after 7-10 days trek) and charge Rs 100 per kg for labour. As such, the commodities were expensive. For example, salt was sold at Rs 300 a kg,” he added.

    GUWAHATI: Cooking gas has wended its way to the “disconnected” Vijaynagar circle of Arunachal Pradesh on the Myanmar border, 57 years after the first Indane LPG connection in India was introduced on October 22, 1965 in Kolkata.

    Two days ago, an agency, based in the Miao subdivision of Changlang district, delivered LPG cylinders to 15 families in Vijaynagar, 157 km away. 

    Minister Kamlung Mossang said the service fulfilled a long-felt need of the people.

    “They rely entirely on firewood for cooking and they faced a lot of hardship,s especially during the rainy season. The government is committed to the well-being of the people in each and every corner of the state,” Mossang claimed, adding. “With the arrival of road infrastructure, Vijaynagar will soon get a facelift.”

    Antu Ngemu, the gas dealer, said the consumers were overjoyed. Nearly 500 others applied for the LPG connection but their documents are yet to reach the agency.

    “We haven’t been able to extend the service to them due to issues, including logistics and documentations. Even for one bank transaction, you have to wait for several days,” Antu said.

    Usina Yobin said her father was so ecstatic that he called her up to break the news of the arrival of the red cylinders.

    “He received the cylinders, not the oven which will be delivered soon, but that couldn’t take away his joy,” Usina told The New Indan Express from Jairampur in the district where she was married off in 2019.

    The BSNL arrived in Vijaynagar in 2020 but one will get through only if lucky. This reporter could not reach any of the LPG consumers despite multiple attempts.

    After her wedding, Usina had to walk for over 100 km and five days along with her husband and others until reaching a road where she hopped into a car to go to his house. While they walked, they had to take shelter at the houses of villagers.

    “Life is very difficult in Vijaynagar. The locals will walk for 15-20 km to go to a forest to collect firewood,” she said.

    Spread across 8,000 sq km, Vijaynagar was discovered in 1961 by the Assam Rifles during an expedition “Srijit II”. It was carried out under the leadership of Major General AS Guraya, the then Inspector General of the country’s oldest paramilitary force. He had named the valley after his son, Vijay.

    Some 4,400 locals are prisoners of geography. A finger-like protrusion surrounded on three sides by Myanmar and on one side by Namdapha Tiger Reserve, the Vijaynagar circle is one of the remotest locations in India.

    For decades, helicopters were the only mode of transport. Now, vehicles have started carrying supplies, thanks to a road. The 157-km long project, which will connect Vijaynagar with Miao, is nearing completion. It takes around seven hours to reach Vijaynagar from Miao.

    “Nearly 90% of the road is complete. Only blacktopping is left. It’s a GSB (granular sub base) road for 130 km. That area is prone to landslides, so disruptions are common,” District Magistrate Sunny K Singh said.

    There is an off-grid power system but it does not function regularly as Vijaynagar witnesses rains throughout the year. Three-four years ago, the rural households were electrified under Saubhagya scheme. The batteries have drained out since.

    “We are going to start a 50 KW hydropower plant in March next year. It will cater to Vijaynagar. We will also do something for (adjoining) Gandhinagar,” Singh said.

    “Earlier, the locals were required to store ration. Porters would bring the essentials (after 7-10 days trek) and charge Rs 100 per kg for labour. As such, the commodities were expensive. For example, salt was sold at Rs 300 a kg,” he added.

  • NSCN-K (YA) militants nabbed by Assam Rifles in Nagaland’s Mon town near Myanmar border

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Three hardcore militants of the banned NSCN-K (YA) outfit were nabbed from Mon town of Nagaland in an intelligence-led counter-insurgency operation by the Assam Rifles after the ultras crossed over to India from Myanmar, sources in the security establishment said on Thursday.

    All the three militants apprehended are residents of Myanmar and they sneaked into the Indian side with the purpose of carrying out a string of attacks, they said.

    The militants identified as Yunah Konyak, Tonpho Konyak alias Aton and Songam Konyak were caught by troops of the 35 Assam Rifles in the operation on Monday in the border town with support from local police, the sources said.

    While Yunah is a resident of Thela village in Myanmar, Tonpho is from Kamka village and Songam is from the Langkho area of the neighbouring country, they said. The Indian and Myanmarese security forces have been coordinating with each other in keeping a strict vigil over the India-Myanmar border.

    In October last year, Army Chief Gen MM Naravane, accompanied by Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, paid a crucial visit to Myanmar during which India decided to supply an attack submarine to the Myanmar Navy besides agreeing to further deepen overall military and defence ties.

    It is learnt that the overall coordination and cooperation between the India and Myanmarese armies on the management of the Indo-Myanmar border has improved following the visit by the Chief of Army Staff. Myanmar is one of India’s strategic neighbours and shares a 1,640-km-long border with a number of northeastern states including militancy-hit Nagaland and Manipur.

    The NSCN (Khaplang) and several other Naga militant groups have been demanding the establishment of a ‘Greater Nagaland’ comprising all the Naga-inhabited areas of neighbouring Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.

    India has been concerned over some militant groups from the North-East region taking shelter in Myanmar. The country has been assuring India that it would not allow any insurgent group to use its territory against India.

    Various Naga militant groups are currently holding talks with the Centre to resolve the decades-old Naga issue.

  • MHA cautions 4 Northeast states bordering Myanmar, says take action on influx as per law

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  The home ministry on Friday directed four Northeastern states — Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland,  Arunachal Pradesh to “take action as per law to check illegal influx from Myanmar into India,” sources told this newspaper. 

    A top ministry functionary called up the four chief ministers to brief them about India’s position on the issue. The chief ministers were told that the states did not have any power to grant refugee status to foreigners since India is not a signatory to UN convention, government sources said. 

    The states were asked to maintain vigil and control at the borders with Myanmar in view of repeated incidents of people from the country attempting to cross over to India. “The chief ministers were told to examine the influx on a case to case basis and provide shelter to only those facing genuine persecution,” said a senior government official.

    Many are believed to be trying to cross over to India, with these four states sharing border with Myanmar. Mizoram, especially, has been seeing an influx following the military coup in the country.s