Agartala, June 25 (IANS): Around 250 Bangladeshi nationals, who tried to enter Tripura on Saturday returned back from the border, police said.
These Bangladeshi Hindu tribals were evicted from their habitation by the forest guards of that country.
"After a flag meeting between the officials of Border Security Force and Border Guards Bangladesh, the latter took these Bangladeshis back from the border to provide rehabilitation in their villages," Khowai district police chief Jayanta Chakraborty told IANS over phone.
The Khowai district administration provided these Bangladeshi nationals food and other essentials during the day.
"Around 250 people, including women and children, tried to enter western Tripura on Saturday morning but the BSF thwarted their attempt," Chakraborty said.
"Bangladesh forest guards had destroyed the homes of these people and evicted them from forest lands at Chunarughat in eastern Bangladesh late on Friday. These people are Hindu tribals who took shelter along the Indian border," he added.
The police officials said that due to border fencing and alertness of the BSF troopers, the Bangladeshis could not enter Tripura's Champahowar village under Khowai district, around 100 km west of Agartala.
BSF sources said they communicated the matter to Border Guards Bangladesh and a flag meeting between the senior officials of the two forces was held in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, Union Home Ministry's Border Management Secretary Susheel Kumar, who arrived here on Friday on a three-day visit to Tripura, held a meeting with Tripura Chief Secretary Yashpal Singh, senior officials of the BSF, District Magistrates and Collectors of different bordering districts besides senior state government officials to review the various aspects of the India-Bangladesh border.
Tripura shares a 856-km border with Bangladesh. However, most parts of the frontier are mountainous and riverine.
Except 90 km, most parts of the Tripura frontier have been fenced to check trans-border movement of terrorists and prevent infiltration and cross-border crimes.
Indo-Bangladesh border to be fenced by 2017
Agartala, June 25 (PTI): Work for erection of barbed wire fencing along the Indo-Bangla International Border (IB) would be completed by 2017, a top official said on Saturday.
“India has set a target of finishing the barbed wire fencing along the Indo-Bangla international border by 2017,” Susheel Kuman, Secretary Border Management under the Union Home Ministry said.
Kumar, who arrived here on a three-day tour yesterday, is now visiting the barbed wire construction works in different parts of Tripura border with Bangladesh.
He reviewed the progress of the fencing works in a meeting with officials of the state government, including the Chief Secretary Y P Singh, DGP, K Nagraj, District Magistrates and all the implementing agencies and BSF yesterday.
Kumar said this issue was discussed with all the bordering state governments including West Bengal, Assam and Meghalaya earlier.
“Wherever fencing is required, it would be constructed and where riverine stretches are present, no fencing would be constructed because it worked as natural barrier,” he said.
Kumar said local problems would be sorted out through discussions and where fencing is required on the zero point of the border would be taken up with the Bangladesh government and the matters would be sorted out through negotiation.”
India constructed border fencing 100 yards away from the international border leaving a large tract of agricultural and homestead land outside the fencing to adhere to Border Management agreement signed in 1975.
India has 4096 km border with Bangladesh and Tripura which is girded by the neighbouring countries in three sides, has 856 km long border.
