Dhaka has objected after the West Bengal government moved to accelerate barbed-wire fencing along the India–Bangladesh border, according to reports.
India shares a 4,097-km border with Bangladesh. A significant portion in West Bengal remains unfenced, which has been attributed to difficulties in land acquisition.
After winning the recent Assembly election, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari held his first cabinet meeting and directed that work begin on a 127-km stretch of border fencing that had been stalled during the previous Trinamool Congress government.
Reacting to the decision, Bangladesh Prime Minister Tariq Rahman’s foreign affairs adviser M Humayun Kabir criticised the move, saying Bangladesh’s people and government would not be intimidated by fences.
He also said India should follow more humanitarian approaches to border security, adding that Bangladesh deals directly with the Indian government and does not wish to intervene in state-level politics, but would not remain silent if its national interest is affected.
