Border fencing work has finally begun in Phansidewa along the India-Bangladesh frontier after years of demands by local residents. The development comes amid rising concerns over infiltration, narcotics trafficking, cattle smuggling and illegal cross-border movement along one of India’s most porous borders.Shreya Chandra examines the scale of infiltration attempts between 2014 and 2025, the political battle over fencing delays in West Bengal, the new state government’s deportation policy, and the BSF’s controversial proposal to explore crocodiles and venomous snakes as deterrents in riverine border stretches where fencing is impossible.