India mulls reptile river guards on Bangladesh border

KOLKATA: India is considering releasing snakes and crocodiles along its frontier with Bangladesh, the Border Security Force said Wednesday, as New Delhi seeks to stave off unauthorised crossings.

Bangladesh is almost entirely encircled by India, and the border stretches for more than 4,000 kilometres (2,485 miles), large parts of which are unfenced across delta regions where Himalayan rivers wind toward the sea.

Senior Border Security Force officer Manoj Barnwal told AFP that “the use of reptiles” was discussed in a February meeting with the Home Ministry.

“We have been asked to explore the feasibility of deploying reptiles such as snakes or crocodiles in vulnerable riverine gaps,” said Barnwal, deputy inspector general of the paramilitary force based in Kolkata, near the border with Bangladesh.

“The plan revolves around leveraging natural deterrents like crocodiles and snakes in flood-prone zones, along the unfenced area where traditional fencings are either ineffective or not possible,” he added.

The border between India and Bangladesh cuts through the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest.

“It’s an innovative move, but there are several challenges and it raises safety concerns,” Barnawl said. “How do we procure the reptiles? What impact might it have on the people in the villages sitting along the riverine border?”

“We have asked our field units to study the feasibility of the approach and send the report as soon as possible,” he added.

Relations between New Delhi and Dhaka soured after 2024 protests in Dhaka that ended the autocratic rule of the then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India.

Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman is in New Delhi on Wednesday — the most senior envoy from Dhaka to visit since the 2024 uprising — in a bid to rebuild frosty diplomatic relations.

India has constructed border fencing stretching hundreds of kilometres (miles), and arrested scores of Bangladeshis attempting to cross the frontier.

The Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has long taken a hardline stance on immigration, particularly from neighbouring Muslim-majority Bangladesh.

Top Indian officials have referred to migrants as “termites” and “infiltrators”.

Rights groups have accused India of also pushing hundreds of Bengali-speaking Muslims into Bangladesh without due process.