Joint border survey on 22 Dec

Statesman News Service

MALDA,(India) Dec. 15. — In order to solve the “misunderstanding” between the two countries on the issue of area operation in the borderline along the river Mahananda, senior Indian and Bangladeshi officials will conduct a joint survey on 22 December, officials said today.

The date has been finalised after a long dialogue between the top-level officials of the two countries and there is no question of postponing the programme, a state official informed the district administrative officials today.

The Malda district magistrate has called a meeting with senior officials of BSF tomorrow and will discuss about the present position of the border, including the disputed borderline areas located in the district.

“Officials of both the countries are interested in resolving the ongoing stalemate on the issue of land allegedly grabbed by both the countries on either side of the river Mahananda with a view to starting anti-erosion work for the protection of the bank line. After 22 December, development will be coming one by one”, a senior top official told this correspondent.

“I can not say anything more about it based on the table calculation of area operation. You will have to wait till the end of the joint survey”, the officer said.Sources said that owing to the stalemate and after heavy gun battle between the Indian and Bangladeshi border guards a few months ago the on going works of the both the countries have been stalled.

Similarly, the central public works department has stopped the payment of compensation to the local people though their lands have been acquired for the construction of the proposed 1 km barbed fencing in this zone.

The central officials think that if the Bangladesh government claimed the area, after change of river course due to erosion with “meandering nature” of the river, they will have to shift the alignment of the proposed barbed wire fencing if survey reports go against India.

But, on the other hand, the district administration and the BSF officials, after studying the treaty regarding the borderline and its zero point along the river Mahananda based on the last map of the International boundary line, have claimed that the Gillabari and Poladanga areas presently located in Bangladesh side was an Indian territory.

Based on the information the BSF had objected to the continuation permanent bank line protection work on the right bank of the Mahananda carried out by Bangladesh, which was also waiting for the verdict of the Joint River Commission.

The BSF officials had argued that the on going work was within the 150 yards from the zero line of the border. The Bangladesh Rifles had criticised the Indian officials on the issue of building border fencing.