Borders to be sealed
Posted by barunroy on December 26, 2007
The Telegraph, Siliguri, Dec. 25: In a bid to ensure peaceful elections to the first National Council (or the upper house) of Bhutan, the Indian government has decided to seal its borders with the Himalayan Kingdom as well as Nepal.
The elections to the upper house of the bicameral parliament will be held on December 31 as part of the switch from monarchy to democracy. The polls will start at 8am and conclude at 4pm.
Twenty-three candidates, representing either the People’s Democratic Party or the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa or as Independents, will contest from the districts of Chukha, Dagona, Samdrup Jokhar, Trashyangtse, Trashigang, Haa, Wangdue, Zhen Gang, Paro, Punakah, Sarpanf and Tsirang. The elections to the National Assembly (Lower House) would be held in March 2008.
“Section 144 would be imposed on the India-Bhutan border to restrict trans-border movement during the election,” said B.L. Meena, the divisional commissioner of Jalpaiguri. “Movement would be restricted from December 30 and the prohibitory orders will be in force till the next day.”
A series of meetings with officials of Bhutan and security forces like police and SSB have been held in this regard, Meena said. “Strategies have been worked out to keep a tab on the security measures and ensure that no law and order problem crops up during the elections.”
Movement would be restricted along entry points to Bhutan (Jaigaon, Banarhat and Birpara) and Nepal (Panitanki and Mirik), administrative sources said.
The move, sources added, is a fallout of the agitation by Lhohshampas (Bhutanese refugees of Nepalese origin) at Panitanki on the India-Nepal border during the mock polls in Bhutan in May this year. Security forces — the SSB and police — had to thwart them from entering India (and then Bhutan), leading to clashes.
“This time, the Indian government does not want to take any unnecessary risk,” a senior official said.
