Indian and Bangladeshi farmers who possess land in the area between the Zero Line and the barbed fences, separated by 150 yards, will be the only ones to be allowed beyond the fences along the India-Bangladesh border henceforth.
This decision was taken at a sector commander-level meeting between the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) at the Chapai-Nawabganj district of Bangladesh on Wednesday.
“At the meeting, the incident (face-off between Indian and Bangladeshi villagers) at Sukdebpur in Malda was discussed in detail and both the forces (the BSF and the BGB) agreed to minimise the movement of people near the border. Only farmers with land close to the fences or beyond the fences will be allowed to move into the area,” said a source privy to the discussions held at the Sonamasjid border outpost.
Sonamasjid is on the Bangladesh side of Mahadipur, a land port in Malda.
The BSF delegation was led by Tarun Kumar Gautam, the DIG in the BSF’s Malda sector. Col Mohammad Imran Ibne Rouf, the sector commander of the Rajshani sector headquarters of the BGB, led the other delegation.
Sukdebpur in Malda erupted two weeks back after the BGB personnel objected to ongoing fencing work on the Indian side. Villagers resorted to protests and some of them, who were engaged in the fencing work by CPWD, alleged that the BGB personnel threatened to open fire if they did not leave the work.
Last week, Indian villagers demonstrated at the border, alleging that Bangladeshi goons looted their crops and water pumps from fields located beyond the fences.
The demonstration prompted Bangladeshi villagers to assemble on the other side in the Chapai-Nawabganj district and protest with anti-India slogans, resulting in tension along the borders. There were reports that stones flew in from beyond the borders, leaving two BSF personnel and at least four Indian villagers injured.
The BSF had to burst teargas shells and eventually, they, along with the BGB, managed to push residents of the respective countries back to their villages.
Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, while addressing public meetings in Murshidabad and Malda earlier this week — both the districts share borders with Bangladesh — asked people to refrain from assembling near the international border.
“The BSF is guarding the border… the police should use the public address system to aware the villagers aware that they should not foray near the border. Also, if there is any issue between the BSF and BGB, the villagers should not rush to the border,” Mamata had said.
The face-off in Sukdebpur also made the BSF and the BGB sit for a border coordination meeting that was held on Wednesday.
N.K. Pandey, a deputy inspector general and the public relations officer of
the south Bengal frontier of the BSF, said they repeated their commitment to work closely with the BGB to maintain peace and security along the border.
“From our side, the delegation reiterated that all attempts would be made to prevent illegal activities at the border,” he said.
While the meeting and the decision brought relief in the bordering villages, some elected representatives of the Kaliachak-III block of Malda, under which Sukdebpur is located, said the BGB should also take steps to stop criminals and others from trying to move into the agricultural land of Indian farmers near the border.
“Such activities escalate tension at the border,” said an elected representative, preferring anonymity.