ID :
34214
Sat, 12/06/2008 - 15:19
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Rampant cattle smuggling into Bangladesh worries BSF
Shillong, Dec 5 (PTI) Apart from tracking infiltration, the Border Security Force (BSF) in India has been preoccupied with chasing cattle along the Indo-Bangla frontier.
Over 10,000 cattle estimated to be valued at over Rs 130 million were seized by the BSF so far this year alone along the border in India's north eastern stae of Assam and Meghalaya.
A worried Inspector-General of BSF's Assam and Meghalaya Frontier, P K Mishra, said smuggling of livestock to Bangladesh has turned into an industry with a huge demand for the animal in the neighbouring country.
"Cattle smuggling has become a disease and the
transaction amount can go up to crores of rupees. But the
irony is that the finished leather goods made of these cattle
are exported to India," he said.
Mishra said the cattle are brought mostly from
northern states like Haryana, Rajasthan, UP and Punjab. They
are loaded in trucks which transport them to about three km
from the international border from where they are distributed
among local goons who smuggle them across the border.
Reports said every third cow in Bangladesh is
smuggled in from India. Official estimates put the annual
turnover from leather, meat and meat exports from smuggled
Indian cattle in Bangladesh at over Rs 25 billion (more than
half a billion US dollars).
What has raised more concern is that very often the
barbed border fencing is destroyed when the cattle are pushed
through them forcibly.
"Some cattle may die in the process, but others are
smuggled across. To revamp or rebuild a small breach, it costs
around Rs 30,000," the BSF IG said.
Apart from the cost factor, the breaches of fencing
may also facilitate the illegal entry of militants and
migrants, Mishra said.
He said it is difficult to catch the smugglers as
local villagers often claim the cattle as theirs.
Also, according to officials most of the firing and
other clashes along the border are over cattle smuggling.
Mishra said during one meeting, the BDR DG had even
suggested to legalize the cattle trade from India. "This
is a decision that has to be taken by the government. As of
now it is illegal, and we have to check it," the BSF official
said. PTI
Over 10,000 cattle estimated to be valued at over Rs 130 million were seized by the BSF so far this year alone along the border in India's north eastern stae of Assam and Meghalaya.
A worried Inspector-General of BSF's Assam and Meghalaya Frontier, P K Mishra, said smuggling of livestock to Bangladesh has turned into an industry with a huge demand for the animal in the neighbouring country.
"Cattle smuggling has become a disease and the
transaction amount can go up to crores of rupees. But the
irony is that the finished leather goods made of these cattle
are exported to India," he said.
Mishra said the cattle are brought mostly from
northern states like Haryana, Rajasthan, UP and Punjab. They
are loaded in trucks which transport them to about three km
from the international border from where they are distributed
among local goons who smuggle them across the border.
Reports said every third cow in Bangladesh is
smuggled in from India. Official estimates put the annual
turnover from leather, meat and meat exports from smuggled
Indian cattle in Bangladesh at over Rs 25 billion (more than
half a billion US dollars).
What has raised more concern is that very often the
barbed border fencing is destroyed when the cattle are pushed
through them forcibly.
"Some cattle may die in the process, but others are
smuggled across. To revamp or rebuild a small breach, it costs
around Rs 30,000," the BSF IG said.
Apart from the cost factor, the breaches of fencing
may also facilitate the illegal entry of militants and
migrants, Mishra said.
He said it is difficult to catch the smugglers as
local villagers often claim the cattle as theirs.
Also, according to officials most of the firing and
other clashes along the border are over cattle smuggling.
Mishra said during one meeting, the BDR DG had even
suggested to legalize the cattle trade from India. "This
is a decision that has to be taken by the government. As of
now it is illegal, and we have to check it," the BSF official
said. PTI
