Hundreds of residents of a village near the India-Bangladesh boundary in Malda district have gathered on the frontier and raised slogans in support of the BSF after the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) raised objections to the erection of fences to divide the boundary between the two countries.

On Monday, the CPWD started erecting fences along an unfenced stretch of 50 metres at Sukdebpur in Kaliachak 3 block.

Soon, the BGB raised objections and demanded that the CPWD stop the work. BSF officers countered them and said the fences would be installed within the Indian territory.

A section of Bangladeshis residing at Shibganj, the village that is on the other side of the border in the Chapai-Nawabganj district, gathered near the border and started shouting slogans.

The residents of Sukdebpur, too, gathered at the border and resorted to sloganeering, prompting the BSF to keep them under control.

“The BSF is installing fences within our country. How can the BGB and the Bangladeshis object to it? It seems they want the stretch to remain unfenced so that they can carry out illegal activities,” said a villager who joined the protests.

On Tuesday, the same situation prevailed, with both sides standing at the border and shouting slogans against each other. The location is around 42km from the district headquarters of Malda.

The BSF also held a flag meeting with the BGB and apprised the force that the stretch where the fence would be erected is within India.

Nitin Singhania, the district magistrate of Malda, said the government was looking into the issue.

“The work has started and we hope it will be completed peacefully. All necessary steps will be taken to ensure that there is no violation of rules,” he said.

In Malda, the India-Bangladesh border is spread along a stretch of 158.5km. Stretches of around 31km do not have fences and most of these areas are in Kaliachak 3 and Habibpur blocks.

“In both these blocks, around 252.10 acres of land are required to erect the fences. The state cabinet approved it and some land has been handed over to CPWD by the district administration,” a source said.

The BSF, sources said, has deployed additional personnel in the area. “They are keeping a watch round the clock and working in coordination with the district police and other agencies,” said a source.