A bluff or a breakdown in communication ?
TSE brings the other side of the story of MHA's notice to suspend border fencing
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, December 17 2013: It is official now.

The purported directives from the Union Home Ministry to suspend the ongoing fencing work along the Manipur-Myanmar border, until a joint survey is conducted by officials of the two countries, have not officially been dictated to the men concerned working at the ground.

This is in continuation of the lead story which appeared in the December 17 issue of this paper under the caption, "Border fencing work still on, claims Govajang village chief' .

During the course of an independent investigation conducted by The Sangai Express a highly placed official, speaking on conditions of anonymity, said that they have not received any official intimation from the Union Home Ministry to suspend the border fencing work and added that the work is still progressing.

Members of the all political party team and officials inspecting the border on Dec 7

"No such instructions have been received so far.

No report has come," said the official.

On December 4 and 5 an all political party delegation led by the Chief Minister himself headed to Delhi to present the case of Manipur, following the uproar raised over the border fencing.

On returning, the all political party team came with the news that apart from the Prime Minister promising that not an inch of land in Manipur would be ceded to a neighbouring country, the Union Home Minister had passed on the necessary instructions to the Border Roads Organisation to suspend the ongoing border fencing work, until a joint team from the two countries survey the area and come to a conclusion.

However all these seem to have come to nought, if the revelation of the Govajang village chief is anything to go by and now corroborated by a high ranking official that the border fencing work is still underway, stressing that they have not received any instructions from the Ministry of Home Affairs to stop the work.

After the all political party team presented the case of Manipur before the Centre, Delhi had deputed an official team including Joint Secretary in the MHA (NE-in-charge) Shambhu Singh to oversee the fencing the work on December 7 and 8 .

Significantly, much before the all political party team went to Delhi and before the Union Home Ministry purportedly issued the instruction to suspend the fencing work, a source from the Union Home Ministry had stated on September 25 this year that the fencing work along 10 kms will carry on.

On the other hand, the Government of Myanmar had claimed that the Integrated Check Post which is being built at Moreh falls under their territory.

When reports about the border fencing intruding into the territory of Manipur was brought out on the public domain, amid public uproar, the State Government had deputed Principal Secretary (Home), of the State Government Dr Suresh Babu to take stock of the situation.

A number of CSOs had also visited the border to get a first hand account.

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