Tension has been building at different points along the Indo-Bangladesh border over the push-in of Bengali-speaking Indians and erection of barbed wire fences by the Border Security Force (BSF) of India. Thousands of people have started fleeing their homes to safer places fearing that skirmishes could break out at any moment. The Bangladesh Border Rifles (BDR) has been kept on red alert in the borders of Lalmonirhat, Chapainawabganj and Khagrachhari districts. The border forces of both countries have exchanged gunshots at Ramgarh border points in Khagrachhari district over erection of barbed wire fence there. Both border guards have reinforced their forces.
India is building the fence along its 4,000-km border with Bangladesh, saying it has been fed up with smugglers and rebels crossing the frontier. India and Bangladesh had a longstanding agreement that neither country would build any structures within 150 meters of the border, a BDR official said. A report from Lalmonirhat said, more than 1,000 families of two villages, Singimari and Burosarodubi, had left for shelters as the BDR announced a red alert at the Singimari border point under Hatibandha sub-district. Many other families are also on a move to leave the villages due to the tense situation at the border points. |