Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday said around 4,800 illegal immigrants have been sent to Bangladesh from holding centres set up in the state’s border districts, and around 836 such people are awaiting deportation from these facilities.

Adhikari asserted that illegal immigration was a big issue, and said his government has already handed over land to the BSF to erect around 100 km of fencing, out of the 556 km required to secure the India-Bangladesh border.

The land handover is a continuous process and is necessary for the security of the country, he said, adding that securing the international boundary is the state government’s priority.

“We have handed over to the BSF around 100 km stretch of land out of 556 km required for fencing, and prioritised the Chicken’s Neck corridor in north Bengal,” the chief minister said, while addressing a preparatory meeting for the BJP’s special training camp.

The ‘Chicken’s Neck’, officially known as the Siliguri Corridor, is a narrow stretch of land- about 20-22 km wide and nearly 60 km long- in north Bengal that connects the rest of India with its northeastern states. It is considered a critical and sensitive lifeline from both security and strategic perspectives.

West Bengal, among all Indian states, shares the longest international boundary with Bangladesh, stretching 2,217 km, out of a total of 4,096 km.

Stating that his government has started deporting illegal immigrants who do not fall under the Citizenship Amendment Act, as per a law of the Union government, Adhikari said, “These people are being handed over to the BSF directly.”

Though the law was applied in other states of the country, the previous Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal did not implement it, he said, adding that illegal immigrants were kept in the state’s jails and had availed facilities at the taxpayers’ expense.

“Around 4,800 illegal immigrants have been sent back from holding centres set up in the state’s border districts,” Adhikari said, adding that 836 such people are awaiting deportation from those facilities.

Pointing to the flow of people at the Hakimpur border in North 24 Parganas district, Adhikari said that many illegal immigrants have already left on their own.

“The demography of Bengal has changed,” the chief minister claimed, adding that the BJP had made infiltration from Bangladesh and demographic change the biggest issues in the West Bengal assembly election, and accused the Mamata Banerjee-led party of being complacent on both issues for political reasons.

Alleging that the census work had not been started in the state by the previous TMC dispensation, Adhikari said the BJP government has commenced the process and that house surveys will take place from August 1 to 15.

“The census will be completed by the end of next February, and delimitation will be held based on it,” the chief minister said.