Thousands of enclave residents in Panchagarh were jubilant yesterday over the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as they were hopeful about seeing an end to their deprived state and starting a good life.
Members of Bangladesh-India Enclave Exchange Coordination Committee joined a procession at the Indian Puthimari enclave in Boda upazila in the afternoon while there was also a festive mood in the district’s other enclaves.
Leaders of the committee said enclave residents who had no rights and were unable to lead a good life had long been calling for the ratification of the land boundary agreement between the two neighbouring countries.
Now our long wait seems to be over, they said.
The Indian prime minister arrived in Dhaka on a two-day visit yesterday morning. Documents on the land boundary agreement’s ratification were exchanged later in the day.
Bangladesh Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque and Indian External Affairs Ministry Secretary Dr S Jaishankar exchanged the documents on behalf of their respective countries.
“History has been made today. We have resolved the border question that has lingered for years,” Modi tweeted immediately after the ratification documents were exchanged.
“We have not merely settled a boundary, we have made our borders more secure & made our people’s lives more stable,” he said in another tweet.
“I believe the enclave residents will no longer live their lives in captivity as the Indian prime minister has come to Bangladesh. I hope he will resolve this issue,” said Abdus Sattar, who lives in Puthimari enclave.
Another resident of the enclave, Dipali Rani, said healthcare facilities were synonymous with ordeals and it gave her comfort that all those problems were going to be resolved.
Sirajul Islam, general secretary of the enclave exchange committee, thanked the Bangladesh government for allocating Tk200 crore in the 2015-16 fiscal year’s budget for enclave residents.
Chairman of Puthimari enclave Taslim Uddin said enclave residents would remain grateful to Sheikh Hasina and Narendra Modi forever for the ratification of the land boundary pact.
“I thought I would not be able to become a citizen of either of the two countries before my death but now I am hopeful,” he said.
The committee’s leaders called on the governments of both countries to resolve all the problems related to the exchange of enclaves as early as possible.
They said officials of both countries should ensure that the enclave residents would face no problems over ownership of lands and would be provided with the necessary documents.
Boda Upazila Nirbahi Officer Abu Awal said a law enforcement committee had been formed in each enclave as part of efforts to ensure security.
“We will introduce birth registration services soon even if official instructions are not given,” he said.
Anwar Sadat Samrat, chairman of Panchagarh Sadar upazila parishad, said the upazila administration had already earmarked Tk2 lakh for arranging water and sanitation facilities in the upazila’s enclaves.
Panchagarh Deputy Commissioner Md Salahuddin said enclave residents would be brought under social safety net once the enclaves were exchanged.
“We have already made plans for this in a meeting where officials of all government offices of the district were present.”
