Villagers in Mekhliganj on Friday began fencing parts of the boundary of the lone Bangladeshi enclave of Dahagram-Angarpota. While armed jawans of the neighbouring country’s paramilitary force Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) argued with them, trying to stop them from erecting the four-foot-high barbed-wire fencing, the Border Security Force (BSF) stood guard and facilitated the process.
A narrow 178-metre by 85-metre road called the Tin Bigha Corridor connects the Dahagram-Angarpota enclave with the Bangladesh mainland. The area is completely unfenced and sees heavy troop deployment by both countries.
Villagers said they were erecting the fence with the help of BSF to prevent cattle from Bangladesh from grazing on their fields and eating up crops. A BSF team rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control after ground-level dialogue with BGB officers.
“It isn’t permanent fencing (in Mekhliganj), rather an improvised one locally, very close to the zero line,” a BSF official said on condition of anonymity.
Just three days ago, nine people, including seven Bangladeshi infiltrators and two Indians, were arrested by BSF jawans for illegally crossing over to the Indian side of the border. Those arrested included a tout Mithun Ray from Mekhliganj.
Before that, on Monday, tensions flared up between the BSF and BGB over single-row barbed wire fencing at Sukdevpur, with the latter objecting to it. Work began for a short while on Tuesday but was stopped in the afternoon following a flag meeting between the two sides. It has not been resumed since.
As per BSF officials, a commandant and sector-level meeting was held to resolve issues and pacify the situation.
In Malda, permanent fencing was being erected by the BSF, while in Mekhliganj it was temporary fencing close to the zero line.
“When fencing is permanent in nature, it has to be erected at a distance of 150 yards from the international border (IB). If there are some physical constraints and fencing cannot be done maintaining 150 yards distance and has to be done at a lesser distance due to population and villagers staying too close, then a decision is taken after discussion,” said BSF officials.
BSF officials blamed mala fide intentions of some people behind the issue. “The status quo is maintained. There is no change on land, and fencing work will restart soon,” said BSF officials. They also appealed to people not to believe the videos being circulated on social media.
“Since the fencing work is not urgent, we are keeping it suspended for some time to avoid unnecessary tension and confusion. It will start soon, but we are not setting any deadline,” said a senior officer, BSF South Bengal Frontier.
Sources said BSF deployment has been intensified in the areas concerned in the last two days, with round-the-clock patrolling and surveillance. “We reiterate that the border situation is under control at Baishnabnagar and that we have temporarily suspended work to avoid more tension,” the BSF officer said.
Bengal has a 2,216-km boundary with Bangladesh, 50 per cent of which remains unfenced, making it vulnerable to illicit cross-border activity. In Malda, of the 172 km of the border, around 27 km lacks proper fencing. The current dispute is over attempts to put barriers on 1,200 metres of unfenced area in Baishnabnagar village.
Officers at BSF South Bengal Frontier said the work at Baishnabnagar started last year but was put on hold when the monsoon hit. “It is not new work. It was suspended for a few months because of unfavourable weather. Just as we resumed the work, we faced opposition from BGB. But we will resume work,” said the officer.
The situation has also fuelled political reactions. BJP leader Amit Malviya criticised TMC leader Firhad Hakim for condemning slogans like ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ raised during a recent anti-infiltration operation. Malviya alleged that Hakim’s stance favours illegal immigrants.
In response, TMC leader Kunal Ghosh criticised the BSF’s failure to secure the border, highlighting the vulnerability of the long border with Bangladesh. He also questioned the BJP’s focus on West Bengal while ignoring similar issues in BJP-governed states.