DC and chairman DDMA, Niuland, T.L. Kiusumong Tikhir handing over immediate relief to a beneficiary affected by landslide from Ghokuto village, Niuland on August 31. (DIPR)

Border check gates across the North Eastern states have long been presented as instruments of security, regulation and crime prevention. Yet their continued proliferation raises a more uncomfortable question: are they genuinely serving the public in...