Shah to review border security and infiltration in Seemanchal

Patna: Union home minister Amit Shah will review security and illegal infiltration from Bangladesh in the Seemanchal region of Bihar during his three-day state visit beginning Wednesday.

His visit to the Seemanchal districts bordering Bangladesh and Nepal for three consecutive days — the first such extended stay in the region — is being viewed as strategically significant, particularly given the proximity of the sensitive ‘Chicken Neck’ corridor.

Shah will visit Kishanganj on Feb 25, Araria on Feb 26 and Purnia the next day. No meeting has been scheduled in Patna so far, industries minister Dilip Jaiswal said on Tuesday.




Jaiswal said a meeting between Shah and the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), along with other security personnel, is also scheduled. The home minister will interact with residents of border areas under the govt’s Vibrant Villages programme.

He is also likely to discuss demographic changes in the region with deputy CM and state home minister Samrat Choudhary and DGP Vinay Kumar.

BJP sources said Shah is scheduled to arrive in Purnia at 4pm on Wednesday. From there, he will travel by helicopter to Kishanganj to hold a review meeting.

On Feb 26, he will attend the inauguration of the Leti border outpost of the SSB in Araria, followed by a review meeting with superintendents of police (SPs) and district magistrates (DMs) of border districts on India-Nepal issues. He will also review the Vibrant Villages programme in Araria before returning to Purnia.

On Friday, Shah will hold a meeting with officials in Purnia on India-Nepal border issues and depart for Delhi on Feb 27.

He will also launch and dedicate schemes for the SSB at the Leti post. The new Rs 8 crore SSB camp building has modern facilities and accommodation for about 250 personnel.

This will be the first time the Union home minister spends three days in the Seemanchal region.