New Delhi: The Centre has approved Rs 31,000 crore for the construction of border fencing and roads along the 1,610-kilometer-long international border between India and Myanmar.
"The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has, in principle, approved the construction of border fencing and roads along the 1,610-kilometer-long international border between India and Myanmar, at a cost of approximately Rs 31,000 crore," sources in the Home Ministry disclosed on Wednesday.
About 10 kilometres of fencing have been completed over Moreh, and work is underway to fence another 21 kilometres of the border in other areas of Manipur, sources said.
In the recent past, the Home Ministry has scrapped the free movement regime (FMR) between India and Myanmar besides taking initiatives to fence the porous border.
Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said fencing the Indo-Myanmar border is one of the strategies adopted by the Centre to control the violence in Manipur. Shah said that fencing work had been completed in 30 kilometres of the border, which he termed the root cause of the ethnic violence in Manipur.
The India-Myanmar border passes through Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh in the northeastern region. Earlier, the FMR helped people residing close to the border to venture 16 kilometres into each other's territory without any documents.
The FMR was implemented in 2018 as part of India’s Act East policy. Sources said the Home Ministry has taken several initiatives regarding Manipur’s security situation in the last 100 days.
"Continuous dialogues are being held with both the Meitei and Kuki communities to restore peace in the region as soon as possible,” sources said. According to the sources, Home Minister Amit Shah has been regularly reviewing the security situation in Manipur and necessary actions are being taken.
"Two battalions of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have been deployed in Manipur. In addition, around 200 companies of central police forces are deployed there. Moreover, the Manipur government has started 25 shops and mobile vans to provide essential commodities at fair prices to the general public. These shops and mobile vans are operating in all districts of Manipur," sources said.
As a new initiative, Kendriya Police Kalyan Bhandar (KPKB) was opened from September 17, 2024, to provide essential commodities to the people of Manipur at fair prices.
"In addition to the 21 existing Police Kalyan Bhandar, 16 new Kalyan Bhandar are being opened. Out of the 16 new Police Kalyan Bhandar, eight will be in the valley, and the remaining eight in hilly areas," sources added.
More than 220 people belonging to both the Kuki and Meitei communities and several other security personnel have been killed in the continuing violence in Manipur since last year. The ethnic violence in Manipur started on May 3, 2023, over a tribal solidarity march in the hill districts of the state to protest against the majority Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
