India turns to crocodiles for policing Bangladesh border

KOLKATA: India is considering releasing snakes and crocodiles along its frontier with Bangladesh, its Border Security Force said on 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, large parts of which are unfenced across delta regions where Himalayan rivers wind toward the sea.

Manoj Barnwal, an official of the Border Security Force, said “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 a 2024 uprising in Dhaka ended the autocratic rule of then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India.

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

India has constructed border fencing stretching hundreds of kilometres and arrested scores of Bangladeshis attempting to cross the frontier in the wake of Hasina’s overthrow. The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has long taken a hardline stance on immigration, particularly from Bangladesh. Top Indian officials have referred to migrants as “termites” and “infiltrators”.