Centre grants Rs700 cr to curb Maoist menace

A 702-Km long road will come up on the Indo-Nepal border 

PATNA: The Centre has agreed to provide funds for the construction of a 702- kilometre road on the Indo-Nepal border passing through seven districts of Bihar. The porous Indo- Nepal border has been causing concern to the Bihar government as well as the Centre for quite some time, particularly after the turmoil in Nepal.

It was for this reason that the Centre deployed the ‘Shashastra Seema Bal’ (SSB), a para -military force to guard the Indo-Nepal border four years ago. Due to bad road connectivity and a large number of rivers originating from hills passing through the border areas, many areas continue to remain inaccessible to the security forces and the naxals, a situation that has proven advantageous for criminal elements who commit trans-border crimes .

It was for this reason that the Government of Bihar and also the SSB personnel were demanding construction of all-weather roads in the bordering areas for effective patrolling and also to maintain a strict vigil on the infiltration of Maoists and other kinds of elements involved in subversive activities. PN Rai, Bihar’s Special Secretary (Home) told DNA that the state government in coordination with the officers of SSB had moved the Border Management wing of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for an all season-road in that area and that finally the project had been approved in principle by the Centre.

The Centre would provide the required funds (around Rs700 crore) for the project through its Border Area Development Project (BADP).