Amit Shah’s update on India-Myanmar border fence: 10 km covered, further 20 km approved

Home Minister Amit Shah announced on Tuesday that India plans to build a fence on the India-Myanmar border to facilitate better surveillance, just as India seals its border with Bangladesh.

Announcing the significant development on X, Shah said India would build a fence along the entire 1,643-km-long India-Myanmar border. Patrol runways will also be laid along the border to allow for better surveillance.

“Of the total length of the border, a 10-km stretch in Moreh, Manipur, has been fenced. Additionally, two pilot projects for fencing through Hybrid Surveillance System (HSS) are being implemented,” Shah added.

The Home Minister also announced that about 20 kilometers of fencing work in Manipur has also been approved and will start soon.

Manipur has about 390 kilometers of border with Myanmar, but only about 10 kilometers has been fenced so far. In July last year, data released by the state government showed that about 700 illegal immigrants entered the state.

In addition, since the military coup in Myanmar on February 1, 2021, thousands of anti-junta rebels have poured into Mizoram. The government estimates that thousands of refugees have been living in different parts of Mizoram since the coup.

Mizoram shares a 510-km-long border with Myanmar.

Shah announced plans for a fence around the Myanmar border last month, adding that the free movement regime (FMR), which allows people living near the India-Myanmar border to venture up to 16 kilometers into each other’s territory without a visa, is coming to an end.

Meanwhile, in another major update, India on Tuesday asked its citizens to leave Myanmar’s Rakhine state immediately amid ongoing security concerns.

“In view of the deteriorating security situation, disruption of telecommunication means including landlines and acute shortage of essential commodities, all Indian citizens are advised not to travel to Rakhine State, Myanmar,” the government said in its advisory.