Shillong, Sept. 23: The Meghalaya government today indicated that it would strengthen the presence of its security forces along the border areas by creating new police and border outposts and by upgrading the existing police outposts to police stations.

Providing information in the Assembly on the penultimate day of the autumn session, chief minister Mukul Sangma, while replying to the queries raised by HSPDP legislator Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit, said the government has set up seven police stations, 14 police outposts, eight border outposts, two checkgates and three anti-dacoity camps along the inter-state border with Assam.

On the international boundary, Sangma said the government has established 12 police stations, 10 patrol posts, 11 checkposts, four additional checkposts, three passport checkposts, four watch posts, and one police outpost.

The chief minister was responding to Basaiawmoit's queries on the steps taken by the government to protect the lives and property of the people living along the inter-state and the international boundaries.

Meghalaya shares a 443km boundary with Bangladesh while the inter-state boundary with Assam is more than 600km.

Basaiawmoit, while stating that in spite of the attempts by the state government to provide security to the people living along the border areas, there were reports of militant groups harassing people from time to time.

"Maybe the police are not equipped with sophisticated weapons to take on the militants. Therefore, I want to suggest to the government to come up with a scheme and provide the residents in the border villages with AK-47s so that they would be able to protect themselves," Basaiawmoit said.

However, Sangma enumerated the measures taken by the government to strengthen the police organisation, and said the government was looking to upgrade all existing police outposts to police stations besides creating more police and border outposts.

Highlighting the other steps being taken to protect the lives and property of people living along the inter-state border, Sangma said apart from joint meetings between the chief ministers and chief secretaries of Meghalaya and Assam, the designated nodal officers of the two states and the deputy commissioner and superintendent of police of the districts concerned hold meetings from time to time to sort out irritants in the areas of difference.

Moreover, the chief minister said, the border magistrate and the deputy superintendent/circle inspector-level police officers of the districts concerned of both states were designated as "first responders" in the event of any emergency.

On the international boundary with Bangladesh, he said periodic meetings between the district magistrates, police and other district officials of the border districts of India and Bangladesh has been introduced.

"The BSF also works in close liaison with the state police and hold periodic meetings to share information about criminal activities along the international border," Sangma said.