A large number of people living in Indian enclave Dashiar Chhara under Phulbari upazila brought out a procession in Kurigram town yesterday demanding rapid implementation of the Indira-Mujib Border Agreement ‘74 and exemplary punishment to drug smugglers who are opposing the pact.
Under the banner of India-Bangladesh Enclave Exchange Co-ordination Committee (IBEECC), they arrived at the office of Kurigram Deputy Commissioner Imtiaz Hossain at noon.
They placed a memorandum to the DC demanding the drug smugglers working to thwart the treaty’s implementation be punished.
General Secretary of IBEECC’s Bangladesh part Golam Mostafa said Assistant General Secretary of the Indian part of the committee Diptiman Sen Gupta, in a rally on September 11, announced to protect the smugglers.
“We expect that the Indian government will implement the agreement but some drug smugglers have got in the way. The majority of the enclaves have become safe havens for smuggling and taking drugs,” Mostafa said.
“The drug smugglers do not want to have the treaty implemented because they cannot carry on with their business once the deal is implemented,” he added.
A number of drug smugglers vandalised the IBEECC office at Dashiar Chhara early on Monday. The enclave dwellers brought out a stick procession on the day in protest of the incident.
