Himanta welcomes Bengal cabinet's decision to hand over land to BSF for border fencing

Guwahati, May 13 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday welcomed the West Bengal Cabinet's decision to hand over land to the BSF for fencing the India-Bangladesh border as it was very important for the security of the state and the North East.
    Strict vigilance and closure of the India-Bangladesh border was very important for the security of Assam and the region, the chief minister said at a press conference here after chairing the first cabinet meeting of his second term in office.
    "Our fight against infiltration always faced a problem because there was a huge gap in fencing between Bangladesh and West Bengal," he claimed.
    Sarma said that many organisations in Assam demand that the border must be sealed in the state, but this was meaningless without a similar closure in West Bengal.
    Five states share the India-Bangladesh border - Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam and West Bengal, and of these, Assam has the smallest stretch while West Bengal has the longest border with the neighbouring country, he said.
    "This was our issue for long, but on Monday, the West Bengal Cabinet has taken a very significant decision that within 45 days BSF will be given land so that India-Bangladesh border can be completely secured and fencing can be erected in a stretch of 800 km,'' Sarma said.
    
    This is very heartening news for the people of Assam because "we are fighting infiltration, and this cannot be stopped without a nationalist government in West Bengal."
    "I wholeheartedly welcome the decision taken by the Bengal cabinet, particularly by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari'', he added.
    Sarma said that this was his campaign theme during the entire Bengal election, as without securing the border of that state, the entire North East will remain insecure.
    ''This decision of the West Bengal cabinet is very welcoming news for the people of Assam and the North East. I would like to compliment the Bengal cabinet for this historic decision'', he added.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)