Amit Shah reviews security at Siliguri Corridor, pushes for 'triangular grid'

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday (22 August) reviewed security arrangements along India's eastern borders, with a particular focus on strengthening surveillance and security around the strategically important Siliguri Corridor, also known as the "Chicken's Neck", officials said.

Shah held the meeting with senior officials of the West Bengal government and central security forces at Sukna, on the outskirts of Siliguri, on the third and final day of his visit to the state.

The meeting focused on enhancing border surveillance, improving coordination among central security forces, intelligence agencies, state police and the administration, and preparing a framework for a proposed "Triangular Security Grid".

Senior officials of the Border Security Force (BSF) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), which are deployed along the region's international borders, also attended the meeting.

The Siliguri Corridor is a narrow land link connecting mainland India with its northeastern states. Its strategic importance is heightened by its proximity to the international borders with Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.

At an SSB event in Siliguri on Friday, Shah said the corridor was among the country's most sensitive areas from a national security perspective and connects eight northeastern states.

He said the Centre had prepared a triangular security grid involving three new military garrisons at Dhubri in Assam, Kishanganj in Bihar and Chopra in West Bengal. The three locations are intended to strengthen security around the corridor.

The proposed arrangement will bring security infrastructure and personnel closer to the corridor while improving coordination among forces operating along the eastern frontier.

Shah's visit also included the launch and inspection of SSB security infrastructure and indigenous border-security technologies. The Centre has said it is working to strengthen surveillance and security infrastructure along India's international borders.

The Home Minister also said on Friday that the West Bengal government had made 1,129 acres available for border fencing and related security infrastructure, with the Centre seeking the remaining land required to complete the work.

The Siliguri Corridor serves as the principal land connection between the northeastern states and the rest of India. Its location near three international borders makes border management and coordination among security agencies particularly important.

The proposed security grid comes as part of the Centre's broader measures to strengthen security infrastructure in and around the corridor, including greater surveillance and deployment of security forces.

Shah's three-day West Bengal visit also included discussions on longstanding political demands in the Darjeeling hills. On Saturday, the Centre formed a committee headed by former deputy national security adviser Pankaj Kumar Singh to work towards a "permanent political solution" for the Gorkha community under India's constitutional framework.