Under revised free movement regime, 22 gates along Myanmar border functional, 10 on Manipur border

Image used for representation only.
| Photo Credit: Ritu Raj Konwar

As many as 22 out of 43 crossing points along the Myanmar border under the revised Free Movement Regime (FMR) agreement have started functioning, said a senior government official on Thursday. At least 10 border gates, to regulate the movement of people living within 10 km of the India-Myanmar border, have started operations in Manipur, five gates each are operational in Mizoram and Nagaland and two in Arunachal Pradesh.

The Union Home Ministry on December 6 finalised new guidelines to regulate the movement of border residents with QR code enabled passes. As reported by The Hindu on December 25, though Home Minister Amit Shah announced that FMR is being scrapped, the agreement is yet to be suspended and no formal orders have been issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to the effect. Myanmar is engulfed in an intensified armed conflict between ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) and the military junta.

The 43 crossing points were finalised by the MHA as per the revised guidelines and Assam Rifles has been entrusted with the task of monitoring the movement of people from across the border.

After the Myanmar military took over the country following a coup on February 1, 2021, over 40,000 refugees belonging to the Chin ethnic group entered Mizoram and Manipur seeking shelter.

Ethnic relations

FMR was brought in place in 1968 due to ethnic and familial relations between people on either side of the largely unfenced north-eastern border. Initially the territorial limit of free movement was 40 km, which was reduced to 16 km in 2004 and in 2016 additional regulations were enforced. It has now reduced to 10 km, the official said.

The official added the unique arrangement allows border residents to visit relatives and families without visa or passport. “The FMR is being regulated keeping in mind the sensitivities of the border population. People are being allowed with a border pass and their biometrics are being recorded. We upload the details and biometrics on a centralised portal and check if the person is on a negative list or not,” said the official.

Assam Rifles has been designated as the agency to issue border passes and conduct first layer of security verification for people entering India from Myanmar. The State police in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur, which share a border with Myanmar, will conduct security checks at the place of stay of the Myanmar resident. The border pass will be valid for up to seven days.

The 21 additional border check points along the 1,643-km international border will be functional in second phase.