The Centre has started the process to move the border fencing in Punjab near the zero line to ease the hardships of border district farmers to till their lands. Union Ministry of Home Affairs has issued letters to deputy commissioners of the border districts, including Ferozepur, Tarn Taran, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Pathankot and Fazilka, to carry out a social impact survey regarding the proposed shifting. The SDMs will begin the exercise in these districts soon.

Akashvani Jalandhar Correspondent reports that as per the present practice, farmers are allowed to go beyond the fence for cultivation only at fixed hours decided by the Border Security Force, which is manning Punjab’s 553-kilometre-long border with Pakistan. Disclosing this during a program yesterday, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann said that with this decision, lakhs of acres of land will come within the fenced area, allowing farmers to cultivate freely.