West Bengal’s Siliguri Corridor, widely known as the “Chicken’s Neck,” is an extremely sensitive, narrow stretch of Indian territory. The Siliguri Corridor is one of the main links connecting India’s mainland to its northeastern region. Visiting Siliguri on Friday, August 21, Union Home Minister Amit Shah delivered a major message on the corridor’s three-tier security. He said every measure is being taken to keep the Siliguri Corridor secure, and outlined multiple plans centered on Siliguri, ranging from administrative infrastructure to faster rail connectivity with Delhi, beyond border security alone.
At an event held that day at the Sashastra Seema Bal’s (SSB) North Bengal Frontier Headquarters in Ranidanga, Siliguri, Amit Shah also inaugurated the foundation-laying for several new administrative and residential projects worth about 1.89 billion rupees. West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and Darjeeling MP Raju Bista attended the event.
Speaking at the event, Amit Shah said the Home Ministry has built a special “triangular security grid” for the security of the Siliguri Corridor and the country as a whole.
Surveillance, military presence and administrative authority across the entire corridor have been multiplied from three bases — Chopra, Kishanganj and Dhubri. The region is being kept secure through regular military exercises such as “Teesta Prahar.”
He said federal agencies had, for a long time, needed about 560 acres of land to strengthen the Siliguri Corridor. Although putting up barbed-wire fencing along the border was considered extremely urgent to prevent infiltration, the land could not be obtained from the previous chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s government despite repeated requests.
But he said the new chief minister, Suvendu Adhikari, made national security a priority as soon as he took office. Within just 45 days of the state government’s formation, Shah said, the land dispute with the BSF and SSB was resolved and 1,129 acres of land handed over. He added that during a breakfast meeting, approval for the remaining 29 acres was also assured on the spot.
Amit Shah also said that alongside comprehensive efforts on border security, priority is being given to the region’s connectivity, tourism and economic development. Under “Vibrant Village Programme 2.0,” a 68.39-billion-rupee initiative is connecting border villages along the Bangladesh and Bhutan frontiers not just by road, but into the heart of the mainland.
At the same time, the “Amrit Bharat Station” project is transforming Siliguri and Jalpaiguri stations into world-class stations. Most notably, the Indian federal minister said, the Delhi-Siliguri high-speed rail corridor announced in the 2026-27 budget is expected to make it possible to travel from Delhi to Siliguri in just a few hours within the next two to three years.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report