Open borders with Nepal, Bhutan pose security threat

SILIGURI: Although India has an open border with neighbours Nepal and Bhutan, the porous nature of the borders have started raising concerns on national security.

Declared 'open' as per international friendship treaties, these borders are unique in nature. It is not mandatory for citizens of the three countries to have passports or visa to cross borders.Despite the presence of boundary demarcating pillars along the 699-kmlong Indo-Bhutan border and the 1,751km-long Indo-Nepal border, as per the friendship treaty, none of the the pillars can be fenced. While help maintaining close ties and encouraging border trade, the open borders might be fostering illegal activities. “These open borders are highly porous. People across these borders have good relationship between themselves.But a lot of unwanted activities also takes place,“ said S Bandopadhyay, IG, Siliguri Frontier, Sashastra Seema Bal, that guards these two international borders.

Former chief justice of Supreme Court of Nepal and Human Rights Commission chairperson of the country Justice Anup Raj Sharma also expressed his views along the same lines. “Human trafficking, smuggling of fake currencies, endangered animals or animal body parts are all major concerns across the Indo-Nepal border,“ he told ET.

While all the entry and exit points allow citizens of Nepal and Bhutan to enter India freely, there is no system to verify citizenship or registration of the people or vehicles entering through the international entry points.

“If visa is denied to a person in India, heshe may get it from Nepal and Bhutan and enter India through one of these countries. Such person's entry and exit in India remains unregistered and can be a major security threat,“ a security official said. “Governments should instruct security agencies to check identities of everyone crossing the borders and keep record. That can reduce security threat,“ said Justice Sharma.