Indo-Myanmar Int'l Border Fence Should Be Completed Soon, Border Movement Should Be Stopped: Manipur Congress Chief Keisham Meghachandra Singh

In an exclusive converation with ETV Bharat's senior journalist Pranab Kumar Das, Meghachandra said attributed part of violence in Manipur to the lack of barbed wire fencing along the international border. The Manipur Congress chief urged the Central government to complete the border fence project inititated by the previous Congress government.

Tezpur (Assam): Welcoming Central government’s approval of Rs. 31000 crore for construction of barbed wire fence along the Indo-Myanmar border, Manipur Pradesh Congress President Keisham Meghachandra Singh on Wednesday urged the centre to expedite the process for the sake of lasting peace in the state.

The northeastern state had been on the boil since May 2023 after tension between two communities took an ugly turn leading to death of over 200 people and displacement of thousands belonging to both the communities. The BJP led government in Manipur had earlier blamed unabated influx from other side of the border as one of the main reason behind the violence.

It may be mentioned here that India has 1643 kms of International border with Myanmar which includes 520 km in Arunachal Pradesh, 215 km in Nagaland, 398 km in Manipur and 510 km of border in Mizoram.

In an exclusive conversation with ETV Bharat's senior journalist Pranab Kumar Das, Meghachandra said, "One of the reason for the violence in Manipur is lack of barbed wire fencing along the international border”.

“The law and order situation has gone out of control due to illegal immigration from the other side of the border,” he said. Meghachandra said the Centre should allocate more funds to complete the barbed wire fence along the international border and complete it as soon as possible as many illegal immigrants enter Manipur from the Kankapki Moreh and Churachandpur border areas and indulge in militant activities in Manipur. “This is because the instability in neighboring Myanmar has consequently destabilized Manipur through infiltration into India,”he said.

"The Manipur Assembly had decided to stop free movement along the international border between India and Myanmar and requested the Union Government to take action to abolish the previous Free Movement Regime (FMR),” he further added.

Meghachandra said about 10 km of fence has already been completed in Moreh during the previous Congress government. Moreh is a very sensitive international border town in Manipur where infiltration is very frequent. Meghachandra said the issue of movement along this international border is a geopolitical issue. The border barbed wire fence at Moreh has already been completed at pillars Nos. 81 and 82 .

The Congress leader said that Manipur is “still in turmoil with sophisticated weapons, bombs, rockets attacks on civilians, killing about 100 people while more than a thousand are currently undergoing treatment.

"The people of Manipur are questioning why Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not paid attention to the issue of Manipur," he said.

"While Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Russia and Ukraine, he is not thinking about a state in turmoil within his country. In Manipur, civilians from one district to another are being attacked with sophisticated weapons like Israel and Palestine,Russia and Ukraine war, " he added.