New Delhi: Amid the hullabaloo over fencing the Indo-Myanmar border, the Home Ministry has decided to allow Myanmar citizens to enter Manipur with an entry pass.
It has been reported that the Ministry of Home Affairs has informed the Manipur government about a new scheme to allow Myanmar residents who live within 10 km of the border to enter Manipur.
The Myanmar citizens residing within the 10 km of the border can now enter Manipur after getting a “border pass” from the Assam Rifles.
The same facility will also be applicable for Manipur’s border residents who wish to visit Myanmar border villages.
The development holds significance because the Manipur government has currently suspended the free movement regime (FMR) at the India-Myanmar border across the check posts and locked the gates.
The Centre has started to fence the border, which passes through Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. At least 30 km of border fencing work has already begun in Manipur.
The MHA order said that eight pilot entry/exit points would be made functional immediately, while 35 other points would be set up under Phase I and II.
The MHA’s deputy secretary wrote to the Manipur chief secretary on Tuesday about the new system, under which movement of border residents from Myanmar and India, but within 10km, would be allowed to visit relatives, tourism, business, medical treatment and cultural exchange programmes.
The new system, according to the letter, was discussed during a meeting of border management held by the MHA on December 16.
The letter, titled “Deployment of police personnel and health officials at pilot sites of entry/exit points along Indo-Myanmar border”, directed the chief secretary to appoint at least two police and two health officials at each of the identified entry/exit points of the Assam Rifles company operating bases where the people would be allowed to enter Manipur.
