Shillong, July 12: About 1800 km of fencing along the Indo-Bangla border has been completed under Phase II of the project, official sources said on Sunday.
Further, replacement of 376 km of fencing has been completed under Phase III project. A total of 2579.22 km of fencing and 1422.45 km of roads under Phase II are scheduled to be completed at a cost of Rs 4393.67 crore within the year 2010, an official statement said.
It said 861.72 km of fencing under Phase III would also be completed by 2010 at a cost of Rs 884 crore.
The installation of floodlighting works is also in progress in about 2840.90 km stretch, mostly in the Bengal sector.
According to the statement, a total of 383 border outposts would be set up within 2014.
However, the porous stretch along the border in Meghalaya and Assam continues to raise concerns of infiltration and cross border movement of militancy.
According to a BSF official, a total 41 km of 211 km Bangladesh border in Tura sector and 47 km out of 264 km in Shillong sector have been fenced so far while fencing construction is in progress in another 129 km in Meghalaya.
The Meghalaya government is yet to give its nod for the construction of fencing along 135 km of the border.
Similarly in Assam, of the 134 km border, only 46 km has been sealed, while work is in progress in 31 km.
Objection by BDR has also stalled the fencing work in 55 km stretch of the border where fencing cannot be erect at 150 yards from zero line.
Meanwhile, the BSF has started the process of raising two new battalions for augmenting deployment along the Bangladesh border in Shillong, Tura and Dhubri sectors to mount vigil against movements of militants.
Bureau Report
