INDIA-BANGLADESH 2 LAST

The people's ingress to Indian mainland has been
restricted by the Border Security Force (BSF) for 4 times a
day, timings being 6-7 AM (IST), 9-10 AM (IST); 1-2 PM (IST),
4-5 PM (IST).
"By fencing of 150-yard border territory to Bangladesh
side, India has practically disowned 149 villages with a
population of about 90,000 in a vast tract of land," former
State Information Commissioner Assam R S Mooshahary and a
ex-director general of BSF said in an article hosted on the
Assam Information Commission website.
"The people and their property there are clearly at
the mercy of another country as fencing impedes the exercise
of sovereign jurisdiction by India. At places fencing has
divided the homesteads, fishponds and the village markets
rendering peoples life miserable," Mooshahary added.
The Government of India does not have any
rehabilitation scheme for the fenced Indian villagers.
RTI activist Anoop Prakash Awasthi, who ventured there
in a reality research with Delhi based Centre for Civil
society, told PTI that "a humanitarian crisis is brewing in
the name of national security and relocation of fenced
population in Indian mainland only, can reduce their perils."
Home Ministry told in a reply to an RTI query that "no
rehabilitation Scheme (for the border people) has been
envisaged by this department," a copy of which is available
with PTI.
"We are in jail, we cannot freely move the other side
and come inside. We cannot freely bring a kilo of sugar and
7-10 kg of rice and not more than that," 70-year-old Abdul
Salam Chaudhry, an ex-tea contractor, said.
"No such programme like NREGS is functional here. We
cannot sell our bamboo, as no material is allowed to pass
through the BSF manned gates from fenced Indian land to Indian
mainland.
"We do not have drinking water. We fetch water from
the pond. We do not want moon but a hand pump," Abu Baqar, a
resident of Lafasail village of Krimgang, said. PTI