Enclave survey on
Over a hundred women and children have been enlisted as residents of 59 Indian enclaves inside Lalmonirhat in the first two days of a 10-day joint survey by Bangladesh and India.
The women were Bangladeshis and married to residents of the enclaves after 2011, Kallol Sarker, an Indian survey team official, told our Lalmonirhat correspondent yesterday.
That year, a joint census was carried out in all the 162 enclaves -- 51 Bangladeshi enclaves in Indian Kooch Bihar district and 111 Indian ones in four districts of Bangladesh -- by the two neighbouring country.
Aklima Begum, 19, was one of the women who got registered with a survey team in Lalmonirhat yesterday. Her husband is Noor Hossain of Bhitarkuti, an Indian enclave, in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila.
She said she used to reside with her parents in Fulgachh village of Lalmonirhat Sadar, some five kilometres off the enclave, before her marriage.
Sakhina Begum, 20, wife of one Hamidul Islam of the same enclave, had a similar story. A resident of Ulipur upazila in Kurigram, she had her marriage in 2012.
The survey officials said they were verifying the choice of citizenship by the enclave inhabitants and collecting their information, signatures and finger prints.
"From our teams working at other enclaves [in Lalmonirhat], we came to know that more than 100 women and children have registered their names," said the Indian official Kallol.
He said they were conducting the survey, basing on the records of the joint census in 2011.
Kallol said many, who failed to get included in that population counting, were coming to the survey teams to get themselves registered.
Hazrat Ali, 56, an inhabitant of Bhitarkuti, said he was outside his home during the census. "Now, I want to be included in the new list,” he said.
On Monday, Bangladesh and India jointly launched the survey in the 162 enclaves.
The enumerators will carry out the survey on the enclave population and land area and find out the residents' choice of nationality. The survey will continue till July 16 and the results will be published on July 20.
Among the enclaves in Bangladesh, 59 are in Lalmonirhat, 12 in Kurigram, 36 in Panchagarh and four in Nilphamari.
According to the 2011 census, the enclaves in Lalmonirhat have an area of around 7,560 acres with a population of 16,400.
Like the previous day, the enumerators yesterday found no one from at least 20 of the 59 enclaves who wanted to become Indian nationals, said Kallol.
At least 34 inhabitants of 30 out of 36 Indian enclaves inside Panchagarh expressed their desire to become Indian nationals during the survey, reports our Thakurgaon correspondent, quoting officials of the control room of Panchagarh deputy commissioner's office.
No one from six Indian enclaves in Debiganj upazila wanted to be Indian nationals, Shahin Reza, executive magistrate and in-charge of the control room, told The Daily Star.
So far, 181 people have got their names registered during the survey in Panchagarh, said officials.
Eighteen camps have been set up for running the survey-related activities in 36 enclaves inside the district.
Comments