Samrat asks officials to tighten vigil along India-Nepal border

Patna: CM Samrat Choudhary on Tuesday asked administrative and police officers to remain fully alert against suspicious movement, narcotics trafficking, counterfeit currency circulation and smuggling activities along the India-Nepal border, warning against any laxity in maintaining border security.

Chairing a high-level review meeting on India-Nepal border management at the ‘Samvad’ Sabhagar in the Chief Minister’s Secretariat here, Samrat also instructed officials to take strict action against “immoral and illegal activities” taking place along the porous border. He said the border security mechanism must remain fully strengthened at all times.

Union minister of state for home affairs Nityanand Rai also attended the meeting.

During the meeting, chief secretary Pratyaya Amrit informed that a high-level review meeting on India-Nepal border security had earlier been held on Feb 26 and Feb 27 under the chairmanship of Union home minister Amit Shah. Amrit presented a detailed report through a presentation on compliance with the directives issued during that meeting.

Addressing the officials, Samrat said Bihar played a crucial role in decisions related to border management and security because of its long and sensitive international boundary with Nepal. He stressed that the directives issued by the Centre should be implemented properly and without delay.

“The surveillance system and security arrangements on the border should be kept strong,” Samrat said while asking officials to make greater use of modern technology to improve monitoring and surveillance along the border.

The India-Nepal border in Bihar stretches across nearly 729 kilometres and forms a significant portion of the total 1,751-kilometre boundary shared between the two countries. The border passes through seven districts of Bihar — West Champaran, East Champaran, Sitamarhi, Madhubani, Supaul, Araria and Kishanganj.

Others present at the meeting included principal secretary to the CM Deepak Kumar, additional chief secretary of the home department Arvind Kumar Chaudhary, director general of police (operations) Kundan Krishnan, secretary to the CM Lokesh Kumar Singh, secretary to the CM Sanjay Kumar Singh and other senior officials.