B'deshi migrants(Eds: Updating with additional inputs, quotes)By Achinta BorahKolkata, Dec 7 (PTI) Union Home Minister Rajnath Singhtoday asked five eastern states sharing boundaries withBangladesh to be extra vigilant against influx of Rohingyasand illegal immigrants through the porous Indo-Bangla border.
At a meeting of chief ministers and home ministers ofWest Bengal, Assam, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Tripura here, hesaid a border protection grid on the lines of Unified Commandset up in insurgency-hit states will soon come up in thesestates to check illegal infiltration.
"The state governments have to be extra vigilant againstthe Rohingyas and other illegal immigrants," he said, flaggingthe central government's priority to check the illegalimmigrants from Myanmar through Bangladesh.
The home minister resolved to check illegal immigrantswho have links with extremists groups for further anti-national activities with ulterior motive and posing threat tointernal security.
"Radical elements and terrorists can be checked only withjoint action and active cooperation of central and stategovernments," he said.
Influx of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis though the porousIndo-Bangla border has been a major concern for India.
According to official estimates, around 36,000 Rohingyasare currently living in various parts of India.
Director General of BSF K K Sharma had last week said histroops apprehended 87 Rohingya Muslims along the Indo-Banglaborder from the beginning of this year till October 31, and 76were sent back to Bangladesh.
He quoted latest estimates to say that 9-10 lakh RohingyaMuslims have migrated to Bangladesh from Myanmar and thepossibility of a spillover to India cannot be ruled out.
The home minister said the concept of the grid has beenplanned as a multi-pronged and foolproof mechanism to securethe 4,036-km-long Indo-Bangla border.
"The grid will comprise various elements namely physicalbarriers, non-physical barriers, surveillance, system,Intelligence agencies, state police, BSF and other state andcentral agencies," he said in his opening remarks.
Of the border with Bangladesh, 2,217 km falls in WestBengal, 262 km in Assam, 443 km in Meghalaya, 856 km inTripura and 180 km in Mizoram.
This is the fourth meeting of the chief ministers ofstates, which share international borders, called by the homeminister. Three separate meetings of chief ministers ofstates, sharing borders with Pakistan, China and Myanmar, washeld earlier.
Unified Command structures comprising army, paramilitaryforces and state police are in place in states like Jammu andKashmir, Assam and Nagaland to effectively deal withmilitants.
Singh said the NDA government has been giving highestpriority to secure India's international border by putting inplace a robust system to facilitate legitimate trade andcommerce.
"India has friendly relations with Bangladesh and allthese measures will be taken to facilitate genuine trade andlegitimate cross border movement of people while curbingradicalisation, illegal immigration, smuggling of cattle, fakeIndian currency notes and drugs," he told the chief ministersand top officials of the five states.
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal sought a new lawto check the cross border smuggling, including cattle, andeffective steps to end illegal immigration.
Sonowal said the central government should set a deadline- possibly December 2018 - to completely seal theinternational border with Bangladesh.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appreciatedthe central government's initiative to hold this meeting ofthe chief ministers and offered full cooperation to any jointaction. PTI ACBZMN.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.