Arunachal Pradesh CM hails Centre’s decision to fence India-Myanmar border

ITANAGAR: Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu has hailed the decision of the central government to completely fence the India-Myanmar border.

Commending the central government’s decision, the Arunachal Pradesh chief minister termed it as a “great move in the right direction”.

He said that complete fencing of the India-Myanmar will “make our borders foolproof”.

“A state-of-the-art surveillance will check the movement of unscrupulous elements,” said Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu said.

Arunachal Pradesh shares a 520-km-long border with Myanmar.

Fencing of the India-Myanmar border could virtually put an end to the Free Movement Regime (FMR) prevalent between the two countries.

Also read: Assam CM hails Centre’s decision to fence entire India-Myanmar border

According to FMR, people residing close to the India-Myanmar border are allowed to venture up to 16 km into each other's territory without any document.

It may be mentioned here that India and Myanmar share an 1643-km-long international border in the Northeast.

The India-Myanmar border passes through the Northeast states of Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.

Notably, the Northeast states of Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh currently has FMR, which was introduced in 2018 as part of India’s Act East policy.

Earlier, union home minister Amit Shah, on Tuesday (February 6), said that the Narendra Modi-led BJP government is ‘committed’ to build impenetrable borders.

Also read: Entire India-Myanmar border in Northeast will be fenced: Amit Shah

Amit Shah said that the union government has decided to construct a fence along the entire 1643-kilometre-long India-Myanmar border in the Northeast.

“To facilitate better surveillance, a patrol track along the border will also be paved,” union home minister Amit Shah said.

The union home minster added that out of the total border length, a 10-kilometre stretch at Moreh in Tengnoupal district of Manipur, has already been fenced.

“Furthermore, two pilot projects of fencing through a Hybrid Surveillance System (HSS) are under execution. The government will fence a stretch of one kilometre each in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur,” he added.

Amit Shah further said: “Additionally, fence works covering approximately 20 kilometres in Manipur have also been approved and the work will start soon.”