India, Jan. 28 -- The West Bengal Cabinet has given the go-ahead for acquiring land for the Border Security Force (BSF) to fence the India-Bangladesh border at Karimpur in the Nadia district amid tensions between the two countries over the construction of barbed wire fencing along some stretches of the frontier and cross-border clashes between farmers.

"The Cabinet gave in-principle approval on Monday. The land procurement through the district-level committee will start soon. We will soon inform the Union home ministry to place the fund with the committee," said an official.

West Bengal shares a 2,216 km border with Bangladesh. Some stretches of the porous border remain unfenced and vulnerable to infiltration and smuggling.

A BSF offic...