Security arrangements along the international border between India and Myanmar in Mizoram has been tightened in view of the Lok Sabha polls.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made in Champhai district of Mizoram to ensure a peaceful election on April 19 as the district is one of the main conduits for narco-terrorist activities, officials said on March 19.
Officials said that law enforcement agencies have been making coordinated efforts in the run-up to the elections to ensure free, fair, and peaceful polling in the district that will also have a positive impact in the entire state.
Champhai district SP Vineet Kumar said security is being beefed up to prevent entry of drugs, cash, and weapons as well as smuggling of illegal goods through the porous Mizoram-Myanmar border river Tiau.
Being summertime, Tiau river has been drying up fast, facilitating people from Myanmar, carrying narcotics, illegal goods, and weapons, to easily cross the border river, Kumar said, adding that it will be necessary to meticulously check all the goods coming from Myanmar to ensure no illegal commodities pass through the border.
Besides the state police and the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) being deployed for election security, all the other enforcement agencies have to work in tandem to prevent illegal activities during the elections, he said.
Champhai district deputy commissioner and district election officer James Lalrinchhana urged the law enforcement agencies to work closely together to prevent the entry of any goods that can be used for money and muscle power during electioneering.
Lalrinchhana also asked the agencies to regularly submit reports and maintain records of all the activities including seizures of illegal goods in the border district.
Champhai district shares a 148.06 km international border with Myanmar’s Chin state and the most accessible district of Mizoram with Myanmar which shares a total international border of 404 km.
The district also hosts the largest number of Myanmar refugees who fled their country after the military coup in February 2021. The total number of Myanmar refugees taking shelter in 11 districts of Mizoram, as per the data of the state home department is 32,161.
