Tension seems to be increasing on the India-Bangladesh border. Bangladesh has stopped India from fencing the border. This matter is of the border area located in Cooch Behar, where cattle fence was being built to stop animals. On Thursday, Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) stopped the Border Security Force (BSF) from doing so. People aware of the matter said that no violence took place during this time. However, the construction work has been stopped. Apart from this, patrolling has also been increased as a precaution. Now this matter will be raised during the meeting between the military forces of the two countries in October. It is worth noting that the relations between the two countries are not normal after Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India in Dhaka and the power upheaval there after that. Due to the violence against Hindus in Bangladesh, some people are looking for a way to come to India.
A BSF officer aware of the matter said that our jawans were building a cattle fence. Meanwhile, BGB jawans came and objected. The officer said that this was not a border fence. The officer, on the condition of anonymity, said that the fence was being built to ensure that the cattle of one country do not stray into the other country. He said that due to this, there is often a dispute between the residents of the village on both sides. Another officer, on the condition of anonymity, said that the cattle fence is being constructed as per the 2012 agreement between the two countries. The commandants of the BGB and BSF battalions held a flag meeting at the border to resolve the issue amicably, but a solution could not be found.
The official said the matter will be taken up in the meeting of the Directors General of the two forces in Delhi in the first week of October. There is no violence on either side of the border but patrolling has been increased by both forces. The heads of the border guard forces of the two countries meet twice a year to discuss issues along the 4,096.7 km long India-Bangladesh border. The last meeting was held on March 5 this year in Bangladesh. The next date of the meeting has not been decided by the BGB yet.
This is the second time in a week that tensions have flared up along the border since the fall of Bangladesh’s Awami League government on August 5 amid chaos and violence. On Saturday, the BGB refused to return five Indian nationals who had strayed into Bangladeshi waters by mistake. They were helping BSF personnel rescue smuggled animals in the Ganga when their speed boat malfunctioned and the waves swept them away into Bangladesh. Despite several flag meetings at various levels, the BGB refused to return them. They were then put in a Bangladesh jail. They are still in jail.
Meanwhile, the BSF headquarters in Delhi has said in a statement that the BGB has responded well in matters related to illegal infiltration and security of minorities. But people on the ground at the eastern border say that the BGB’s stance on many issues has changed since the fall of the government. In a conversation with Hindustan Times, some BSF officers feared that the change of regime could also lead to a change in the BGB. They also recalled the period when Hasina was not in power in the early 2000s. In those days, the relationship between the BSF and the BGB was not cordial.
It is worth noting that the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled from Dhaka as violent protests against her administration intensified. Due to this, she was forced to resign. Since then an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken charge here. After this, supporters or members of Hasina’s party Awami League tried to enter India. After this the BSF had to be alert and keep the illegal immigrants away.
