Sat Mar 15 17:00:00 UTC 2025: ## India to Fully Fence Myanmar Border in Ten Years
**New Delhi, March 16, 2025** – India will erect an “anti-cut, anti-climb” fence along its entire 1,643-km border with Myanmar within the next decade, according to government officials and a parliamentary report. The ₹31,000 crore project, approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in March 2024, includes the construction of 64 border roads to improve access for the Assam Rifles, the force responsible for border security. Construction began in earnest several months after the project was announced by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in February 2024. Over ₹114 crore has already been spent between April and December 2024 on fence construction and establishing bases.
The new fence utilizes indigenous technology designed to prevent illegal crossings. While the initiative aims to enhance security, it has faced opposition from Naga and Kuki-Zo groups concerned about the impact on cross-border family and community ties. The project’s model may be replicated along India’s borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The move comes amidst ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur, partially attributed to unregulated cross-border movement. While a Free Movement Regime (FMR) previously allowed visa-free travel within 10 km of the border for residents of both countries, it has been revised to include regulated border crossing points. Twenty-two of forty-three crossing points are now operational, with a system of biometric registration and temporary border passes. Approximately 9,000 people have used these gates to enter Manipur since the implementation of the revised FMR. Surveillance cameras will further enhance border monitoring.
The FMR, established in 1968 with a 40 km free movement zone, has undergone several restrictions since then. The government officially suspended the FMR in February 2024 and finalized a new protocol in December 2024 to manage movement within the 10 km zone.
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