New security grid formed for strategically located Siliguri Corridor: Amit Shah

Kolkata: Home minister Amit Shah on Friday said a triangular security grid has been formed for the strategically located Siliguri Corridor and it is linked with national security. Siliguri Corridor, also known as Chicken’s Neck, shares borders with Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.

Shah, who was speaking in Siliguri at a Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) Frontier Headquarters programme, said the borders must be completely secured and barbed fencing completed to stop infiltration.

“PM Narendra Modi government has recognised the national security and importance of the Siliguri Corridor. It is a very sensitive and important corridor connecting eight states--Bengal and seven sisters in NE,” Shah said. “We have made a triangular security grid to make the security of the Siliguri Corridor impregnable. Chopra, Kishanganj and Dhubri—from all these three bases, we have increased our presence, dominance and created awareness in the entire Siliguri Corridor. We have taken up exercises like Teesta Prahar and many such exercises.”


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He said the Bengal state government handed over 1,129 acres of land for fencing within 45 days of coming to power.

“There was a shortcoming. In order to make the Siliguri Corridor fully strong, the agencies of the government of India needed 560 acres of land. Mamataji did not give us the land. Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari has given us the approval of 560 acres of land,” Shah said. “Border fencing in the state was long pending…”

Shah claimed that “within 45 days of the formation of the new government, 1,129 acres of land, which we were asking for since 2014 from the previous government, was received. The West Bengal chief minister gave us 1,100 acres of land for BSF and SSB,” he said, adding, “Today, I thought of asking for the remaining 29 acres. When Suvendu ji came for breakfast, I was about to ask, when he said, ‘Send the money for 29 acres, the order will be issued on the very next day’.”

Shah thanked the people of Bengal for choosing a government that “gives priority to national security”.

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“This promptness is not because Suvendu Adhikari is chief minister from a BJP-ruled state. We have had hours of discussions on the problems of West Bengal. He knows that unless infiltration is stopped, neither West Bengal nor India’s security and safety will be ensured,” Shah said.

Shah said that the foundation stone for the administrative building of SSB’s Frontier Headquarters in Siliguri was laid on Friday, which will be constructed over 80 acres.

He said the foundation stone for the 19th Battalion in Thakurganj, the e-foundation stone for the 12th Battalion in Kishanganj, and the foundation stone for the transit camp at New Jalpaiguri were also laid the same day. The new projects worth a total of Rs 189 crore have been initiated here today to provide administrative and residential facilities for SSB personnel, he said.

Regarding the Siliguri Corridor, Shah said that if any area has to be made secure, only security forces cannot do it. “The movement of public, tourism, industry in that area increases our presence. In the 2026-27 budget, seven new high-speed rail corridors were proposed. One of them, the Delhi-Siliguri high-speed rail corridor, has also been approved. The residents of North Bengal and Siliguri will not have to take a flight to Delhi, but they can reach Delhi in a few hours by train in 2-3 years' time, he said.