Shillong, July 1: The entry of narcotic substances from across the border and the smuggling out of sugar from this side are two burning issues expected to be raised during this week’s four-day bilateral conference between the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) taking place here in Shillong, from today.

The conference, taking place at the rank of Inspector General, India and Region Commander level of Bangladesh, are crucial for both sides to raise issues of mutual concern, particularly cross-border crime, regional development initiatives, counter-smuggling efforts, and other security related matters.

Entry of narcotic substances, particularly the notorious Yaba tablets that are making their way into the north east by a substantial number, or the smuggling out of cough syrups from India to Bangladesh, are expected to be a crucial point of the discussion.

Similarly, cattle smuggling, and more recently the clandestine export of truckloads of sugar are two other problems Indian border guards face along the border that will be discussed at the meeting.

Just last week, over 100 cows clandestinely transported to the South Garo Hills border to smuggle out to Bangladesh were seized by BSF and state police personnel.

The 13 member delegation from either side at the conference consists of officials from the BSF-BGB and from the Ministry of Home Affairs, External Affairs, (Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh) and the Narcotic Control Bureau of India.

Heading the Indian delegation is Inspector General, Patel Piyush Purusottam Das from the Tripurafrontier. He is joined by officials from the Meghalaya, Silchar, and Tripura frontiers.

The Bangladesh delegation is led by Md Shazedur Rahman, Additional Director General and Region Commander of the SouthEast Region, Chattogram, and supported by others from Bangladesh.

Cross border terrorism remains the key point of every such conference, and the BSF, in the past, have been raising the issue of cross border militancy with Bangladesh.

The BSF has been requesting its Bangladesh counterpart to act against such outfits and their camps on its soil, whereas Bangladesh has routinely denied the presence of such elements in its territory.

Currently, smuggling of sugar from India has risen because the price of sugar in Bangladesh is way higher than what it is in the Indian market. Smugglers therefore smuggle sugar to Bangladesh and the BSF has seized several tons of such illegal consignment in Meghalaya in recent times.

Similar issues would be raised during the meeting and discussions held on how to stop such illegal activities, a BSF official said.

Meanwhile, the conference will conclude with the signing of a Joint Record of Discussion to summarize the outcome of the meeting and the agreements reached between the two sides.

Read: BJP to contest Gambegre bye-poll, Hek says Congress not a strong force in Garo Hills

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