An opportunity to meet near and dear ones

On the occasion of decades-old traditional Pathar Kali Mela, a remarkable picture was witnessed at Gobindapur border in Haripur upazila on Friday when thousands of Bangla speaking people from both sides of the border got an opportunity to meet their relatives.

Standing on both sides of the barbed wire fence between border pillar No 345 and 346 near Kochal and Chapshar area, people of the two neighbouring countries exchanged greetings and talked happily with their near and dear ones for couple of hours. 

People from different districts of Bangladesh and India, who came to meet their relatives, were seen sharing various gifts and other items like biscuits, chanachur, pens and clothes.

Seeing relatives or other family members after a long time, many could not check their emotion.

Usually the day-long traditional fair is held on the bank of the Kuli river on the first Friday after Shama Puja (Kali Puja) since the British era, said Nagen Kumer Pal, president of mela udjapon committee. 

The arrangement was delayed this year due to standing paddy plants on vast tracts of land on both sides of the border, he said.     

After the partition in 1947, meeting of relatives living in two different countries became very hard, especially for those who could not afford expenditure for the government approved procedures, a number of people said.

Fifty-three-year-old Arati Rani of Vanore village in Ranishankoil upazila, who came to meet her daughter and newborn grandson from Hemtabad village under Uttar Dinajpur district in Pashchimbanga, said the barbed fence obstructed her from taking the kid on her lap. 

A BGB official, seeking anonymity, said they unofficially allow people living in the nearby districts to meet their relatives near the barbed wire.