Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday criticised those who often raise concerns about India’s “Chicken Neck corridor” and try to threaten the country over it. He said such people should also look at Bangladesh, which has two narrow land routes that are even more sensitive.

His statement came after Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus mentioned the “Chicken Neck”- a thin strip of land in West Bengal’s Siliguri area that connects northeast India with the rest of the country.Sarma pointed out that Bangladesh has its version of “Chicken Necks.” The first one, he said, is an 80-km-long corridor between Dakhin Dinajpur and South West Garo Hills. Any problem in this area could cut off the Rangpur region from the rest of Bangladesh.

The second one, he added, is a 28-km-long Chittagong Corridor, which runs from South Tripura to the Bay of Bengal. Sarma said this route is even smaller than India’s Chicken Neck and is the only land link between Bangladesh’s economic centre, Chittagong, and its capital, Dhaka.He shared this information along with a map on X (formerly Twitter) to show how these routes are just as important and vulnerable. He further said that just like India has a narrow land strip called the Siliguri Corridor (Chicken’s Neck), Bangladesh also has two similar narrow areas that are easier to block.

Sarma also shared this after Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus said India’s northeast is “landlocked” and called Bangladesh the “guardian of the ocean” during a visit to China. He said Yunus’s words were wrong and disrespectful. He also said some people have always tried to say that India’s narrow Siliguri Corridor is weak and could be cut off.To stop such threats, Sarma said India should build better roads and rail lines through and around this area. He also said we should find other ways to connect the Northeast with the rest of the country. Sarma added he was just sharing facts about geography that some people forget.

The senior BJP leader further said building more routes around the Siliguri Corridor may be difficult, but it is possible with strong will and new ideas.He also warned that comments made by Bangladesh’s interim leader, Md Younis, should not be ignored, as they may hint at bigger plans or strategies.

What is India’s Chicken’s Neck?

The ‘Chicken’s Neck’, or Siliguri Corridor, is a narrow stretch of land in West Bengal. It connects India’s northeastern states with the rest of the country. At its narrowest point, it is only about 20 km wide.To the north of the corridor are Nepal and Bhutan. To the south is Bangladesh. All road and rail traffic to the Northeast must go through this area, which makes it very important for India.