Around 300 persons from four villages near the unfenced stretches of the India-Bangladesh border in Jalpaiguri’s Sadar block took out a march in Jalpaiguri town on Tuesday, demanding rectification of their land records and immediate installation of fences at the border.

The villagers, who held a rally under the banner of Simanta Nagarik Samiti, walked in the rally that started near the Karala river bridge and moved along the Collectorate Avenue that leads to the district magistrate’s office.

“Around 8,000 people dwell in these four villages, formally included in the Indian map in 2015 during the land boundary agreement between India and Bangladesh. Till date, their land documents have not yet been updated. As a result, the residents cannot provide the land to the state for fences to be put near their villages,” said Saradparasad Das, secretary of the samiti.

In 1947, four Indian villages — Naotori-Debottar, Kajaldighi, Borososhi, and Chilahatii — remained within the Indian mainland but were included in the map of then East Pakistan which later became Bangladesh. In 2015, necessary rectification was done by the countries.

Former MLA Gobinda Roy said: “However, the state government didn’t update the land records. Although residents of these villages have necessary documents, their land is in the name of their grandfathers or other ancestors and not in their names. This change has to be done and the onus is with the state.”

He said that after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh, hundreds of Bangladeshis, mostly Hindus, assembled near the villages along the unfenced stretch, seeking refuge in India.

“The BSF managed to send them back but we are apprehensive of infiltration in our areas. Women are worried about their security and we want the fences to be put up at the earliest,” said a villager participating in the protest.

He said that once the state acquires land from them — they are ready to part with their land — it would be handed over to the BSF. The central public works department (CPWD) would then build fences and the road at
the border.

As the marchers reached the district magistrate’s office, a delegation of the samiti went to the office and submitted memorandums to the district magistrate and the district land and land reforms officer.

“If our demand is not met, we will be forced to launch an indefinite dharna at the DM’s office with our families after Durga Puja,” said Roy.

Shama Parveen, the district magistrate of Jalpaiguri, said that details of the issue had been sent to the state land and land reforms department. “We are waiting for specific instructions and will act accordingly,” she said.

During the march, villagers also protested the rape and killing of the woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College & Hospital in Calcutta that occurred on August 9.

“Villagers are aggrieved with the incident and want exemplary punishment of all those involved in it. Today (Tuesday), they voiced their protests at the rally and demanded justice for the victim and her family,” said Das.