The district magistrate-level meeting of India and Bangladesh, to be held on June 24 in Chittagong in Bangladesh, has been postponed as most of the Indian officials do not have passports.

“The district magistrate-level meeting of India and Bangladesh has been postponed as most of the district-level officials have no passport,” a Tripura home department official said.

Strategies to deal with border crimes, border fencing and better border management, besides issues relating to terrorism were to be discussed and finalised at the meeting.

District magistrates and superintendents of police of south Tripura, Gomati, Sepahijala and Dhalai districts along with BSF officials were scheduled to meet their Bangladeshi counterparts during the one-day meet in Chittagong in southeast Bangladesh.

The official said that to resolve minor border-related problems, these district-level officials from both India and Bangladesh have resumed meetings since last year after a gap of many years.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina had discussed the border issues, including curbing of border crimes and terror activities, during the former’s two-day maiden visit to Dhaka on June 6-7.

Four Indian northeastern states of Tripura (856 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Mizoram (318 km) and Assam (263 km) share an 1,880-km border with Bangladesh.

The mountainous terrain, dense forests and other hindrances make the border porous and vulnerable, enabling illegal immigrants and intruders in crossing over without any hurdle.