Earlier in the day, Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd.) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said that India halted construction of barbed wire fencing along the border due to the strong opposition from the Border Guard Bangladesh and locals.
Addressing a media briefing, Chowdhury said that due to some unequal agreements signed during the previous government’s tenure, “several issues have arisen along the Bangladesh-India border.”
“However, the efforts of our people and the BGB have forced India to stop certain activities, including the construction of barbed wire fences.” Chowdhury said Bangladesh and India have four memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to govern border activities.
“Of these, the 1975 MoU specifies that no development with defence potential can take place within 150 yards of the zero line. Another MoU states that no development activities can occur within this boundary without mutual consent. Any such work requires prior agreement between the two nations,” he said.
The adviser said India has already fenced 3,271 kilometres of the 4,156-kilometer-long border with Bangladesh, leaving approximately 885 kilometres unfenced.
Chowdhury also accused the previous government led by deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina of granting India unequal opportunities, which led to disputes over barbed wire fencing at 160 locations between 2010 and 2023. He said that under the 1974 agreement, Bangladesh handed over Berubari to India after parliamentary ratification.
In return, India was supposed to provide Bangladesh access to the Tin Bigha Corridor, but it failed to fulfil this commitment or ratify the agreement in its parliament, he added.
“They used to open the corridor for an hour and then close it for another hour. Finally, in 2010, an agreement was reached to keep the corridor open 24 hours. However, this agreement also allowed India to construct a border fence on the zero line at Angarpota, violating the 150-yard rule,” Chowdhury said.
“Now, while we oppose this construction, we face challenges as Bangladesh is a signatory to the 2010 agreement,” he said, adding that the foreign ministry took up the matter for diplomatic engagement.
(With additional inputs from agencies)