The residents of Doulatpur village along Chougachcha upazila in Jessore district are passing their days in fear of the new strain of Indian Covid-19 variant as they are living along the border area close to “Indiapara.”
Sources said a road from India has entered into the Doulatpur along its south-eastern side and a number of Indian residents are living in a part of the village, which is known as Indiapara.
The residents of Daulatpur have close contact with the people of Indiapara and there is no boundary among them.
Some 80-85 families of Indian nationals are living on that portion adjacent to the Bangladesh border. The total population of Indiapara is approximately 150.
The residents of Indiapara are moving freely in the Bangladesh part of Daulatpur village dodging the Border Guards of Bangladesh (BGB).
The residents of Indiapara commute to Bagda Bazar and other parts of India every day and then come home.
As the Indian variant of the novel coronavirus has grown into a major concern around the world, panic gripped the inhabitants of the Doulatpur village due to the free movement of the residents of Indiapara.
The locals have demanded to strengthen the border security along Indiapara.
During a recent visit to the Doulatpur, a UNB correspondent found that the people of Indiapara are moving freely in Bangladesh territory under the nose of border guards.
An 85-year-old man of Indiapara, identified as Abul Kashem, was seen without a face mask riding and riding a bicycle on the road in Bangladesh.
He said: “I have been living in Indiapara for the last several years and I have visited Badga Bazar in India for shopping. But now we have refrained from going to Bagda Bazar due to Covid-19 situation. I have many relatives in Bangladesh and I used to move to Bangladesh from my childhood like this.”
Tariqul Islam, a resident of Doulatpur, said: “We have heard that Covid-19 has grappled the Bagda Bazar and other villages along the border. As a result, the Covid-19 may spread among the residents of Indiapara.”
Abdul Karim, another resident of Andulia village in Chougachcha upazila, said: “I have a land along with the village of Doulatpur and Indiapara and I visited my land every day for work purpose and we are now concern about the movement of the residents of Indiapara as the Covid-19 may spread to our country.”
Tota Mia, a resident of Doulatpur village and chairman of Sukhpukuria union, said: “There is a small village of India inside our country and we are concerned about the Indian variant. The residents of Indiapara have been asked to refrain from going other areas adjacent to Bangladesh.”
However, the residents of Doulatpur also asked to refrain from making any contact with the people in India, he said.
Subedar Shahinur Rahman of BGB 49th battalion Andulia camp said: “We kept a vigil about the new strain of Covid-19 in India and we have strengthened our security to check movement of any people coming from Indiapara.”
Two cases of the Indian Covid-19 variant were detected at the Genome Centre of Jessore University of Science and Technology for the first time on May 8.
Earlier that day, the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) confirmed the first case of an Indian coronavirus variant in Bangladesh.
On May 17, IEDCR announced that the Indian variant was also found in six Covid-19 patients in Bangladesh.
India’s crematoriums and burial grounds are being overwhelmed by the devastating new surge of infections tearing through the country with terrifying speed, depleting the supply of life-saving oxygen to critical levels and leaving patients to die while waiting in line to see doctors, reports AP from New Delhi.
According to the World Health Organisation, the Indian variant has already spread to 60 countries across the world.