Shillong, Feb 17: In the last five years 658 illegal Bangladeshi migrants have been arrested in Meghalaya and 194 deported once they have served their time in prison, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong, who holds the Home Department portfolio, informed the Assembly today on the second day of the Budget Session.
Replying to a call attention notice tabled by opposition MLA for Mawryngkneng Heavingstone Kharpran of the Voice of the People Party (VPP), Tynsong said that the state government has put in place a comprehensive and multi-layered anti-infiltration system to crack down on illegal migration.
Kharpran had cited news reports of Bangladeshis entering Mawryngkneng through Silchar (in Assam).
Illegal migration is an emotive issue in Meghalaya and the wider North East, with widespread fears of Bangladeshis crossing the international border. However, it is not clear how many of the hundreds of Bangladeshis referred to by Tynsong had intended Meghalaya as their final destination; many illegal migrants are detained in Meghalaya while they are travelling on to find work in other states or as they are on their way back to their home country.
Tynsong touted the Anti-Infiltration Directorate and district police units as key to Meghalaya’s defence. At present there are 18 anti-infiltration check posts, check gates and a land customs station that are operational at strategic locations along the inter-state and Indo-Bangladesh borders.
The Deputy CM informed that these are supplemented by anti-infiltration special squads functioning in all districts, which regularly conduct anti-infiltration drives, set up surprise road checkpoints and patrolling in vulnerable areas, in close coordination with the Labour Department, Village Defence Parties (VDPs) and local authorities.
Further, Tynsong informed that 11 District Task Forces have been constituted across the state to detect and deport illegal foreign nationals through regular checking and coordinated enforcement involving other departments.
According to him, the sustained measures undertaken by the government have resulted in significant detections and enforcement outcomes. The government has further constituted a state-level committee to monitor detection/identification and deportation of overstaying foreigners in the state.
