Priority is on security

MALDA, Dec. 26: The Malda district administration today held a meeting with five BSF commanding officers to review the security conditions of the region and also on the infiltration problem.

The district magistrate Mr Sridhar Ghosh said: “Security should be tightened before the Sujapur Assembly by-poll on 5 January and the BSF have been asked to seal the Bangladesh border.” Stating that the BSF always kept a strict watch at the border, the BSF 57-Battalion commandant Mr Rajkumar added that the jawans faced visibility problems due to dense fog along the unfenced areas of the border especially in winters. Some panchayat leaders, farmers and villagers were consulted about the timings of operating the gates along the fenced parts of the border. The DM said the BSF has agreed to keep the gates open at specific periods for the farmers and villagers, who live and cultivate land beyond the fence. n SNS