De-mining operations by Indian Army at India -Myanmar border
Imphal: Government of India is taking the fencing along the Myanmar border in a war footing mode. The authorities are taking Indian Army’s assistance to clear the obstacles along the border to resume the fencing work.
Red Shield Division of the Indian Army’s Spear Corps carried out a major area sanitisation and de-mining operation along the Indo–Myanmar Border at Yangoubung, Manipur between Border Pillars 72 & 73 from 16 January to 17 February 2026. The task was undertaken following a requisition from government agencies to facilitate the resumption of stalled border fencing work amid intelligence inputs regarding Improvised Explosive Devices and unexploded ordinances owing to the presence of erstwhile insurgent camps.
Operating in dense jungle terrain under challenging security conditions, the team cleared and sanitised a corridor measuring 2.6 km × 13 m. During the operation, nine IEDs and two unexploded ordnances were destroyed thereby removing a serious threat to innocent lives. The operation also enabled Survey of India teams and construction agencies to proceed with critical border infrastructure work.
India is fast-tracking the construction of a 1,643-kilometer fence along its border with Myanmar. The primary aim is to stem Rohingya infiltration and illegal smuggling activities. The open border has been a transit point of drugs and illicit goods smuggling for years. But it is the BJP government in the centre which has taken the decision to fence the border.
Out of the total length, around 401 kilometres have already been fenced, with ongoing work concentrated in the vulnerable northeastern states of Manipur, Mizoram, and Nagaland. These regions have long featured an open border that enabled unchecked movement.
In Manipur’s key border town of Moreh, 9.2 kilometres of fencing stand complete, bolstering security in this strategic hotspot. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) oversees the ambitious project.
The India-Myanmar frontier spans four northeastern states, including Manipur, where 1,472 kilometres have been officially demarcated. Officials say the fence will significantly tighten control over cross-border threats. It should be mentioned that anti-India elements are trying to disrupt the ongoing border fencing process. These elements have damaged the fencing in many areas in the past few months. In January this year about 120 metres of newly constructed fencing, including 47 posts, had been cut by miscreants, with one pole looted by them. The security along the border fencing has now been beefed up after these types of incidents.
