Voice of the People Party (VPP) president Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit has said that the India-Pakistan conflict should be a wakeup call for the government over the continued entry of illegal Bangladeshi migrants along Meghalaya’s southern border.
However, the Nongkrem MLA was quick to add that border fencing is not going to solve the issue entirely.
Meghalaya shares a 443km border with Bangladesh, parts of which are unfenced. By treaty, such a fence cannot be built on the border itself but 150m inside. This has meant that many landowners are reluctant as they would effectively lose access to their property on the other side of the barrier.
“Only fencing will not help. The government has to strengthen its intelligence gathering and vigil on the border,” Basaiawmoit told Highland Post.
The VPP president said that the government has to think about those residents who may lose their farmlands due to the border fencing with Bangladesh and how to help them, including by providing them with avenues for an alternative livelihood.
Basaiawmoit also asked the government to firmly deal with touts who earn money by facilitating the entry of foreigners, especially Bangladeshis, into India.
The opposition VPP, like other parties in the Assembly, is also in favour of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) to keep a check on migration into the state. Although the State Assembly has passed a resolution in favour of the ILP, the central government has yet to consent to its implementation in Meghalaya.
Basaiawmoit said that Meghalaya is a state where illegal immigrants can enter with ease due to lack of mechanism to detect them.
“It is for this reason we demand time and again for mechanisms to stop illegal immigrants,” he added, referring to the ILP and other rules and laws.
