Author: Syed Zarir Hussain
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: July 27, 2006
Assam Minister says Bangladeshis have moved
border posts ---- In a sudden and daring move, Bangladeshis, backed by their
country's Army, have uprooted pillars demarcating the Indo-Bangla border along
Dhubri and Karimganj districts of Assam, and forcibly grabbed at least 500
acres (2.02 sq km) of Indian territory. The land grab has taken place under
the very nose of the Border Security Force.
By the time Assam Government or its police
could respond to the situation, swarms of Bangladeshis had taken possession
of the land, ferociously pushing back Indians who dared to go beyond the surreptitiously
shifted border posts.
The land grab came to light recently when
tea pickers at Pallatal and Pramodnagar plantations in southern Assam's Karimganj
district found a portion of the gardens being zealously guarded by Bangladeshis.
When the workers tried to enter those areas of the gardens, they were shoved
back.
The shocked workers informed the managers
of the tea gardens and they, in turn, informed the local police. When policemen
visited the two gardens, they found a sizeable area, which till the previous
day was Indian territory, illegally occupied by Bangladeshis. The intruders
were backed by Bangladesh Rifles soldiers.
Later, it was discovered that the Bangladeshis
had uprooted the concrete border pillars, separating the two countries, which
once stood a short distance from the two tea gardens.
Faced with hostile Bangladeshis and armed
Bangladesh Rifles personnel, the policemen could do nothing to evict the intruders
who had grabbed 299.04 acres of Pallatal Tea Estate and 11.73 acres of Pramodnagar
Tea Estate in an overnight land-grabbing mission launched by Dhaka.
Meanwhile, another incident of border posts
being shifted by intruders was reported from Mancachar revenue circle in western
Assam's Dhubri district. There, too, the BSF had failed to prevent the intrusion.
Police investigations revealed that Bangladeshis had usurped 189.06 acres
in Mancachar.
These details have now been confirmed by Assam
Government, which helplessly admitted on the floor of the State Assembly late
Tuesday that "Bangladesh has occupied more than 2 sq km of Indian land
by uprooting border pillars".
Speaking on the issue, State Revenue Minister
Bhumidhar Barman told stunned legislators, "A total of about 499.83 acres
of our territory has been encroached upon and occupied by Bangladesh after
removing boundary pillars."
He confirmed that Bangladeshis have taken
over 299.04 acres of Pallatal Tea Estate and 11.73 acres of Pramodnagar Tea
Estate in Karimganj district. "In Dhubri district, 189.06 acres under
Mancachar revenue circle has been encroached," Barman said, adding, "Even
though the administrative power of these areas lies with the Assam Government,
they are under the control of Bangladesh."
The Assam Government has alerted the Centre
about the land grab by Bangladesh. "We have asked the Union Government
to resolve the issue with Dhaka. The matter was also discussed at the Indo-Bangla
Joint Border Commission meeting held recently," the Minister said. He
was replying to a question by an Independent legislator.
Assam shares a 272-km long border with Bangladesh
of which about 70 per cent has been fenced with barbed wire.
The remaining stretch of the border is merely
separated by concrete pillars.
Illegal immigration by Bangladeshis is a major
problem across the North-East, resulting in frequent clashes between the BSF
and the Bangladesh Rifles. While the Assam Government has refused to provide
official estimates of illegal immigration, there could be as many as one crore
Bangladeshis living in this State.
Indigenous Assamese fear they will be reduced
to a minority if unabated infiltration continues. This fear will be further
heightened by Bangladeshis brazenly uprooting border posts, grabbing land
and colonising Indian territory.
