The Manipur government has started constructing 34 police stations along the India-Myanmar border to check and stop illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

Chief minister N. Biren Singh revealed this in Imphal while flagging off 12 GPS-enabled highway patrol vehicles on Tuesday to help stop intimidation and extortion of truck and bus drivers by miscreants on national highways in the state.

“Construction of 34 police stations from Behiang to Jessami along the Myanmar border has started. This, along with other initiatives, would help the state check and stop illegal immigration and drug trafficking along the border,” Singh said.

Manipur is among the four northeastern states that share borders with Myanmar. Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Mizoram are the other states.

Five Manipur districts — Chandel, Tengnoupal, Kamjong, Ukhrul and Churachandpur — share borders with Myanmar.

Behiang is in the Churachandpur district, while Jessami is in the Ukhrul district of Manipur.

Singh had said in August that his government would set up 34 new police stations to check the influx through the largely porous border with Myanmar. Only 5.3km of the 398km-plus border with Myanmar is fenced.

There is widespread concern in Manipur over the influx from Myanmar since the coup in February 2021.

The concern had led to the state Assembly adopting a unanimous resolution in August “to introduce and enforce the National Register of Citizens” which would help detect and weed out those foreigners living illegally in the state.

The free movement regime, which allows people to enter up to 16km on either side of the Indo-Myanmar border without documents, further adds to the concern over the influx. Assam Rifles personnel guard the border with Myanmar in Manipur.

Manipur government had on March 26, 2021, directed the five districts bordering Myanmar not to set up any camp for Myanmar nationals crossing over to India and “politely” turn them away.

Following widespread criticism, the order was withdrawn.