Aizawl: The Chief of Army’s Eastern Command, Lt Gen R.C. Tiwari, on Tuesday held separate meetings with Mizoram Governor and Chief Minister and discussed the prevailing security situation along the borders with Myanmar and the operational preparedness of the Assam Rifles to meet the challenges.
A Mizoram government official said that Lt Gen Tiwari, accompanied by senior Army officers, held a meeting with Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati at the Raj Bhavan and discussed the prevailing security situation along the India-Myanmar borders.
“The Army officers apprised the Governor about the operational preparedness of the Assam Rifles to meet the challenges along the frontiers,” the official said.
Lt Gen Tiwari also held a meeting with Chief Minister Lalduhoma at the civil secretariat and discussed the border and other related issues.
The Chief Minister later said in a post on X: “Today, I met Lt. Gen. R.C. Tiwari, the Gen. Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command. We discussed increasing local use of the AR ground, developing the Zokhawsang bypass road for farmers, and addressing drug-related activities, among other topics, to improve coordination.”
Mizoram shares 510 km of borders with Myanmar, and 318 km of borders with Bangladesh. The Myanmar border is being guarded by the Assam Rifles, while the Border Security Force (BSF) provides security along the Bangladesh border.
After the military coup in Myanmar in February 2021, over 34,350 Myanmarese from the Chin state fled to Mizoram.
Due to the ethnic troubles in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, 1,433 tribals from the neighbouring country have taken shelter in Mizoram since November 2022.
Smuggling of drugs and other contraband is also rampant along the India-Myanmar borders.
Citing the vulnerability of the India-Myanmar borders spanning Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, and Mizoram, the Central government has decided to fence the frontiers to scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR).
Mizoram and Nagaland governments, along with various political parties and organisations, are strongly opposing the government’s move.
(IANS)
