Bangladesh, India initiating development projects for border population
The border guarding forces of India and Bangladesh have agreed to initiate five development projects along the 4,096-kilometre shared boundary aimed at improving the lives of the local population and reducing tensions along the border, reports the Business Standard
The five projects include the construction of a bailey bridge, road repair, and the strengthening of retaining walls. The projects will be implemented in five states along the border: Assam, West Bengal, Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Tripura.
The agreement to initiate the development projects was reached at the end of the 53rd Director General level border coordination conference in Delhi from 11-14 July between the Border Security Force (BSF) of India and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).
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"During this conference, in a momentous decision, that will have a profound positive impact on the lives of the population along the India-Bangladesh border, a total of five developmental projects were agreed upon, enhancing the joint efforts towards progress and prosperity in the region," said the BSF in a statement.
It added, "This decision is a significant step towards improving the overall quality of life and will serve to foster stronger bilateral trade and relations between the two countries."
The two parties also said that they are working together to reduce misunderstandings and miscommunications that lead to violence and deaths along the border.
Acting BSF DG Sujoy Lal Thaosen said his troops had to fire on miscreants "only as a last resort".
"We have discussed various measures to reduce these killing incidents and sometimes it was seen that there was misunderstanding or miscommunication between lower-level or ground-level troops and we (BGB and BSF) are working together on this issue," said BGB DG Maj Gen AKM Nazmul Hasan.
They also discussed monitoring trespassing, intensifying public awareness programmes, sharing of real-time information and making all-out efforts to bring criminals to justice.
A BSF delegation is expected to travel to Dhaka for the next round of these talks later this year.
