New Delhi/Dhaka | Staff Correspondent
India is considering the establishment of a new Army base in Mizoram near the India–Bangladesh border as part of efforts to further strengthen security around the strategically vital “Chicken’s Neck” or Siliguri Corridor. If approved, this would be the fourth such base under a broader defensive strategy, following the recent setting up of new Army installations in West Bengal, Bihar and Assam.
According to official sources, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of the Eastern Command, Lieutenant General R C Tiwari, will visit Mizoram on December 19. During the visit, he is scheduled to travel to the Thuampui area near Aizawl and inspect the border regions of Parva and Silsuri to assess suitable land and locations for a potential Army base.
Sources indicate that the proposed base may host a battalion drawn from a brigade under the Dimapur-based III Corps. The installation is being envisaged as a frontline defensive position to counter any state or non-state threats along the Bangladesh border.
Lieutenant General Tiwari will be accompanied by Lieutenant General Abhijit S Pendarakar, GOC of III Corps, and Lieutenant General Yash Ahlawat, GOC of the XVII Mountain Strike Corps. Senior officials from the Assam Rifles and the Border Security Force (BSF) will also brief the Army leadership on the prevailing security situation in the presence of other senior officers at Thuampui.
As part of the inspection, the Eastern Command chief will visit Silsuri village in the West Phaileng block of Mamit district and the Parva BSF Border Outpost in southern Mizoram’s Lawngtlai district. The Parva area is considered strategically significant due to its proximity to both the Bangladesh and Myanmar borders.
Following the visit, Lieutenant General Tiwari is expected to return to Agartala, where he will attend a detailed presentation by Army and Assam Rifles officials reviewing overall border security plans.
Meanwhile, the BSF is also moving ahead with long-term infrastructure development along the India–Bangladesh border. Home Ministry sources said that in the Silchar and Mizoram frontiers, bunkers, ring bunds or artificial embankments, blast-resistant shelters and underground armouries will be constructed across three battalion command areas under the Silchar Frontier.
These “critical infrastructure” projects are being prioritised based on operational sensitivity, threat perception and risk assessment. Over the next five years, 45 such defensive structures are planned in each of the three battalion areas under the Cachar and Mizoram frontiers.
At present, there are 85 BSF border outposts along the India–Bangladesh border in the Mizoram sector. Authorities aim to modernise these posts into composite operational hubs. As part of this initiative, construction of 40 defensive structures has already been completed in Mizoram’s Lunglei and Lawngtlai districts.
Additionally, approval has been granted for 19 more such structures, though timelines for completion remain unclear. Under the long-term plan, at least 26 border outposts are set to be equipped with four types of critical defensive infrastructure within the next five years.
