BGB Tightens Jashore Border Security Over Hide Smuggling Fears
Photo: Agamir Somoy
Amid the festivities of holy Eid-ul-Azha, border guards have remained on strict alert to protect the country’s frontier. Border Guard Bangladesh has strengthened surveillance and patrols along the Jashore border to prevent alleged push-ins and the smuggling of raw sacrificial animal hides.
Lieutenant Colonel Golam Mohammad Saiful Alam Khan, commanding officer of the Jashore 49 BGB Battalion, and Lieutenant Colonel Nafiz Imtiaz Ahsan, commanding officer of the Khulna 21 BGB Battalion, confirmed the matter on Thursday.
The two BGB commanders said authorities have placed BGB members on maximum alert to prevent crimes such as hide smuggling and illegal push-ins through the border during Eid. Alongside intensifying patrols, BGB has also launched public awareness campaigns through loudspeaker announcements in border areas to encourage residents to remain vigilant and provide information to the force about such crimes.
The commanders also said, “We have been holding regular border conferences with the Indian Border Security Force to curb all types of border-related crimes. We remain fully alert to prevent push-ins, hide smuggling, drug trafficking and other forms of smuggling.”
Authorities have already deployed additional BGB personnel in high-risk and sensitive border areas.
Sources said law enforcement agencies have taken extensive precautionary measures along several border routes in Jessore ahead of Eid. In particular, authorities have identified Kashipur, Shalkona, Shikarpur, Dhanyakhola, Raghunathpur, Putkhali, Daulatpur, Sadipur, Ghiba, Goga, Rudrapur, Agrabhulot, Panchabhulot and Dadkhali areas along the 102-kilometer border in Sharsha upazila as potential routes for hide smuggling. Authorities have imposed special surveillance at those points to prevent smugglers from using the routes.
The commanding officers of the Jessore 49 BGB and 21 BGB battalions said both border guards and the local police administration have maintained round-the-clock vigilance in the identified border areas over fears of push-ins and hide smuggling, so they can thwart any illegal attempt at the outset.
