Director General of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Major General Md Rafiqul Islam has said the joint survey along Sylhet-Meghalaya borders will begin after accord between the two sides on a few issues.
"Earlier the survey had to be suspended as some differences surfaced after we started it months ago. The Ministry of Home Affairs and the Joint Border Working Group are now working to narrow the differences. Hopefully the survey will resume soon," the DG said at the battalion headquarters of the 5 BGB, Sylhet, on his return after visiting different borders in the district yesterday afternoon.
As his attention was drawn to some Indian Khasias' recent attempt to loot paddy on Dibir Haor borders in Zaintapur upazila, the BGB chief said, "The border areas are now relatively calm due to fruitful discussions with the Indian Border Security Force. The Indian Khasias will no longer have the chance to harvest from croplands inside our territory."
"The stalemate in survey has been prevailing as we could not agree with the Indians over survey points on the 'adversely possessed lands' on different borders in the area. A team from the Directorate of Survey from the capital will visit the borders concerned in presence of the officials of BGB and civil administration," said Sylhet Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Ahmed Shamim Al Razi, also coordinator of the regional survey team.
Against the backdrop of repeated incidents of intrusion for paddy crops and fishing as well as killing and injuring of Bangladesh nationals by the BSF and the Indian Khasia tribesmen, the authorities decided for joint survey on the Zaintapur, Gowainghat and Kanaighat borders. Accordingly, it began on December 7 last year.
But it had to be suspended after the December 14 incident, when about 500 armed Indians, backed by the BSF intruded into the Bangladesh territory and occupied some lands on Padua border. However, they retreated in the face of chase by thousands of villagers after some time.
As the survey works resumed April 5 on Dibirhaor near border pillar No 1284 and 1270 on Padua borders, the Indians claimed 55.3 acres on Dibir haor and 320 acres on Padua borders that had been in possession of Bangladesh. But, they failed to produce documentary evidence in support of their claims.
The Indian Khasia tribesmen had also opposed the survey on Dibir haor border in Jaintapur upazila, claiming 55 acres of Bangladesh lands as of them. Same way they pressed for suspending survey on the Sonarhat-Lynkhat border, where about 80 acres of Bangladesh lands in addition to the 100 acres on Protappur-Padua border had been in the Indians' possession.
An uneasy calm, except a few stray incidents, has been prevailing on about 20 kilometre border from Sonarhat to Dibir Haor in Gowainghat, Kanaighat and in Jaintapur upazilas as the joint border survey on the adversely possessed lands began on December 7.
Sources said the Indians were pressing to start survey from different points without any supplementary records and ignoring the existing border pillars, set in 1947.