八月达茂，草长风劲，骏马扬鞭。    As India's state police flagged concerns over possible demographic changes along India's border, a former Additional Director General of Border Security Force (BSF) told Sputnik that the demographic composition in the area is not likely to be affected in the near future.,Sanjiv Krishan Sood, the ex-Additional DG, made the remarks days after a report published in the Indian media said that police in Assam and Uttar Pradesh had sounded the alarm over the growing population along India's border with Nepal and Bangladesh.,The report cited Assam Police as saying that the growth in population from 2011 to 2021 has increased 31.45 percent in its border areas, exceeding the projected 12.5-13.54 percent along the 10 kilometer border between Assam and Bangladesh.,However, the figures have not been officially confirmed.,"The borders are porous. There are several villages that are located beyond the fence but in Indian territory. (India-Bangladesh do fencing 150 yards before the zero borders). And, trans-border movement does happen sometimes. But saying that the geographic or demographic composition of the area has changed due to this movement is not a correct thing," Sood said.,This is not the first time when such concerns have been raised.,Last year in November, India's Border Security Force (BSF) Director General said that over a period of time, there had been a demographic change in Assam, West Bengal, which was "upsetting to a great degree." He added that even the voting pattern had allegedly changed.,Elaborating on that, Sood noted that the "change in demography on papers was noticed in 1971," when the country of Bangladesh was created, because "many refugees chose to stay in Indian territory.","But, I'm not sure if it is happening now. If somebody wants to come to India, why will they settle in those underdeveloped border areas? There is no point. Economic benefit, infrastructure and employment opportunity, at those areas is as minimal as (it is on ) the other side of the border," Sood stressed.,Assam Police also said that there had been an increase in the number of mosques along the border. Uttar Pradesh Police in a document said out of its 1,047 villages in seven border districts, in the past five years, there has been a 25 percent rise of mosques and madrasas along the border district.,On this, Sood said that perhaps there could have been an increase in the number of madrasas in the border areas. In that case, the government should prioritize setting up government schools.,"Most of the border areas do not have proper schools. If mainstream schools are set up, parents will send their kids to these schools," he added.,The former officer said that he was surprised that BSF is submitting or talking about demographic reports since the force's primary work is to "promote a sense of security amongst border population and secondly to prevent border crime, including trafficking, smuggling and illegal migration.","It is not BSF's work to check demography. We never did that, our intelligence branch may have done. But this is not a mandated task," Sood added.。

二 | 8月15日，2026 年套马沟・诗画草原全国马术耐力锦标赛暨 2026 年套马沟国际马术耐力赛在内蒙古包头市达茂联合旗套马沟田园综合体正式开幕。作为国内马术耐力领域国家级与国际马联认证赛事融合举办的标杆赛事，本届大赛延续往届成熟办赛经验，汇聚全国顶尖骑手与赛驹，在诗画草原之上，上演一场人马同心、意志与耐力的巅峰对决，推动 “体育 + 文旅 + 马产业” 深度融合发展。本次赛事由中国马术协会主办，包头市石宝铁矿集团有限责任公司承办，达茂联合旗文体旅游广电局、石宝文旅联合协办；北京市马术运动协会、内蒙古自治区马术协会为赛事提供支持，全程赛事落地、组织运营工作由北京新乐奇马术文化传播有限公司执行。赛事落地素有马文化底蕴的套马沟，这里自古便与骏马结缘，辽阔草原、起伏郊野构成得天独厚的耐力赛赛道基础，连续三年承接全国马术耐力最高级别赛事，已经成为国内马术耐力运动的核心赛场之一。

三 | 本届赛事项目设置层次丰富，完整覆盖专业锦标赛、FEI 国际星级赛事以及大众达标赛等七个组别，包含全国马术耐力锦标赛 120 公里、100 公里个人赛以及100 公里团体赛；国际马联 CEI1*、CEI2*耐力赛； 40 公里、80 公里耐力达标赛，兼顾专业竞技与大众参与，满足不同水平骑手参赛需求。来自全国15个省市的279匹人马组合齐聚套马沟，既有久经赛场的成熟骑手，也有崭露头角的年轻力量，在草原赛道上同场竞技。

四 | 其中，40KM 达标赛 60 人、80KM 达标赛 54 人、100KM 锦标赛个人 64 人、120KM 锦标赛个人 24 人、国际马联 CEI1*级别 109 人、CEI2*级别 20 人参赛，100 公里锦标赛团体项目共有 13 支队伍报名参赛，充分展现出国内马术耐力项目蓬勃的发展活力。套马沟赛道依托原生态草原地貌打造，草场、土路、缓坡交替，地势开阔，赛道软硬条件兼顾竞技性与马匹运动保护，不仅考验骑手的骑术策略、节奏把控，更考验人马之间长久磨合的默契，耐力赛不止比拼速度，更崇尚对马匹的爱护、科学的竞技理念，诠释马术耐力运动的内核精神。

五 | 赛事全程对标国际马联赛事标准，组建国际化裁判、兽医技术团队，严格落实验马、途中兽医检查、终点复检全流程，保障马匹福利与赛事公平公正。计时、检录、赛道补给、医疗安保、马房后勤等配套保障体系全面升级，在往届办赛积淀之上进一步优化，为参赛骑手、马匹、现场观众提供专业完善的赛事服务保障。本次赛事邀请到François KERBOUL (佛朗索瓦）法籍，国际马术计时设备公司ATRM的主席，国际马联耐力委员会的成员，国际耐力赛E3级裁判，从业耐力赛40年，是国际马联耐力赛的先行者和开拓者；兽医总长Christian Dreker(德国籍兽医总长），国际马联E3级兽医裁判；连同十六位国际裁判，对本次大赛给予极高评价。各位专家均表示，在四十余年从业生涯里，先后执裁数百场国内外耐力赛事，本次套马沟马术耐力锦标赛，赛事保障体系完备、赛道建设水平出众。专家们对中国耐力马术事业的高速发展倍感振奋，大家一致认为套马沟赛道软硬件条件，已经达到世锦赛承办标准。赛场上，骑手策马扬鞭，骏马奋蹄驰骋。

六 | 漫长赛道之上，人马组合并肩前行，克服长距离赛程带来的体力消耗，相互信任、彼此支撑，充分展现马术耐力运动坚韧拼搏的体育精神。赛场之外，各地游客慕名来到套马沟，观骏马奔腾，赏草原风光，沉浸式感受草原马文化魅力。赛事搭台，文旅唱戏，把国家级马术赛事流量转化为地方文旅发展动能，助力达茂旗打造特色马文化体育旅游名片。连续三年，全国马术耐力锦标赛扎根套马沟。赛事的持续举办，既为国内马术耐力运动员搭建高水平竞技平台，推动国内马术耐力运动规范化、国际化发展，也深度挖掘内蒙古草原传统马文化，实现现代马术竞技与草原本土文化双向赋能。未来，套马沟将继续发挥地域与资源优势，持续打造国内标杆马术耐力赛事 IP，以马为纽带，讲好草原故事，赋能地方文体旅游高质量发展。