Amit Shah reviews Siliguri Corridor security, plans triangular security grid

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday reviewed security arrangements along India’s eastern borders with senior West Bengal government officials and central security forces, with particular attention to the strategically important Siliguri Corridor, also known as the ‘Chicken’s Neck’.

The meeting, held at Sukna near Siliguri on the final day of Shah’s three-day visit to West Bengal, focused on strengthening border surveillance and improving coordination between central forces, intelligence agencies, state police and the administration.

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

Officials said the discussions included plans for a ‘Triangular Security Grid’ aimed at strengthening security around the narrow corridor, which is the key land link connecting the northeastern states with the rest of India.

The strategic importance of the area is heightened by its proximity to the international borders with Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. The Siliguri Corridor provides the principal land connection to the Northeast and links the region with the rest of the country.

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

He said the Centre had planned three new military garrisons at Dhubri in Assam, Kishanganj in Bihar and Chopra in West Bengal as part of the proposed triangular security grid around the Siliguri Corridor. 

with inputs from PTI