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| File Photo of BDR personnel confronting Indian BSF soldier:wordpress.com |
Friday October 09 2010
Panic gripped the people living in the border areas in Sylhet frontier as the Indian border security force continued constructing a road and a bridge some 150 yards inside Bangladesh in Goainghat upazila still Thursday ignoring protests from the Bangladesh Rifles.(The New Age BD )
Sources in the BDR and local residents said BSF personnel took a sudden move on October 1 to construct a road over a stretch of 230 acres inside Bangladesh along the border pillar 1270 and 1271 near Pratappur BBR outpost with a plan to build a bridge there.
The BDR protested at the Indian border guards’ activities and requested BSF officials concerned to stop the construction work.
But the BSF continued the construction work saying that they were just repairing an old road and not building any new structures in the area.
After repeated request from the 21 Rifles Battalion, the BSF at first agreed on a joint survey to be conducted by the company level officers of both sides to ascertain the ownership of the land over which the road and bridge were being constructed, sources in the BDR said.
But, the BSF official concerned backed away from the agreement on the plea that the company level or battalion level authorities had no right to conduct such a joint survey of a disputed land. The BSF said that the matter should be discussed at the state level.
The BDR sources said there was no deputed land in the Pratappur border as par the Land Boundary Agreement of 1974. The matter was settled by the then governments of Bangladesh and India.
BDR’s Pratappur outpost in-charge nayeb subedar Shahed Ali told New Age on Thursday that the BSF had continued constructing the road and the bridge inside Bangladesh territory since October 1, despite repeated protests from the BDR.
Layek Ahmad, a resident of Hazipur village along the Pratappur border said the BSF men were constructing the road to connect their Padua camp with the zonal headquarters of the BSF.
‘We fear clashes between the two border guards. We will have to suffer in the event of a border skirmish because we have to leave our homes…,’ he said.
When contacted, 21 Rifles Battalion’s commanding officer lieutenant colonel Khairul Kadir told New Age on Thursday evening that the BDR was watching the situation.
He said the BSF authorities did not respond positively so far despite the BDR’s repeated requests over the issue.
‘We have informed our higher authorities about the matter,’ the BDR official said.
He told New Age that a government-level decision was necessary before initiating a move like construction of any structures along the border.
‘So far as I know, no such decision has been taken by the Bangladesh and Indian governments,’ he said.
Sources in the BDR and local residents said BSF personnel took a sudden move on October 1 to construct a road over a stretch of 230 acres inside Bangladesh along the border pillar 1270 and 1271 near Pratappur BBR outpost with a plan to build a bridge there.
The BDR protested at the Indian border guards’ activities and requested BSF officials concerned to stop the construction work.
But the BSF continued the construction work saying that they were just repairing an old road and not building any new structures in the area.
After repeated request from the 21 Rifles Battalion, the BSF at first agreed on a joint survey to be conducted by the company level officers of both sides to ascertain the ownership of the land over which the road and bridge were being constructed, sources in the BDR said.
But, the BSF official concerned backed away from the agreement on the plea that the company level or battalion level authorities had no right to conduct such a joint survey of a disputed land. The BSF said that the matter should be discussed at the state level.
The BDR sources said there was no deputed land in the Pratappur border as par the Land Boundary Agreement of 1974. The matter was settled by the then governments of Bangladesh and India.
BDR’s Pratappur outpost in-charge nayeb subedar Shahed Ali told New Age on Thursday that the BSF had continued constructing the road and the bridge inside Bangladesh territory since October 1, despite repeated protests from the BDR.
Layek Ahmad, a resident of Hazipur village along the Pratappur border said the BSF men were constructing the road to connect their Padua camp with the zonal headquarters of the BSF.
‘We fear clashes between the two border guards. We will have to suffer in the event of a border skirmish because we have to leave our homes…,’ he said.
When contacted, 21 Rifles Battalion’s commanding officer lieutenant colonel Khairul Kadir told New Age on Thursday evening that the BDR was watching the situation.
He said the BSF authorities did not respond positively so far despite the BDR’s repeated requests over the issue.
‘We have informed our higher authorities about the matter,’ the BDR official said.
He told New Age that a government-level decision was necessary before initiating a move like construction of any structures along the border.
‘So far as I know, no such decision has been taken by the Bangladesh and Indian governments,’ he said.
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