Caught between erosion and firing

Residents of Adampur, Muchia, Krishnagar, Raipur and at least 20 other adjacent villages in north Bengal district of Malda are a hapless lot – on the one side, they face the fury of the Mahananda and the Tangon rivers during monsoon and on the other, they are in midst of frequent exchange of fire between border guards of India and Bangladesh.

Over 1,200 rounds of fire were exchanged between the Border Security Force and the Bangladesh Rifles in two days recently as the Indian side undertook anti-erosion measures to save villages during monsoon.

An Indian boy suffered bullet wounds in BDR firing, prompting BSF authorities to lodge complaints with its Bangladesh counterparts.

• 'You can't kill a uniformed officer like this'

Severe erosion of rivers has affected the villages in Englishbazar block of Malda for which district authorities, with the help of BSF, have undertaken anti-erosion measures, much to the consternation of Bangladesh Rifles, a high-ranking BSF officer told PTI.

Erosion, particularly of the Mahananda, authorities said, has already taken away massive land area, posing serious threat to the existence of villages along the International Border.

The Mahananda, which separates the two countries, has been eroding its banks at Muchia and Adampur, devouring vast tracts of land, including that of barbed fence along the International Border.

Indian efforts to check river erosion raised objection from BDR officers who lodged complaints with BSF that the work was a violation of norms since the site of work was within 150 yards of the zero line.

A flag meeting between the two border guards failed to yield any result to the dispute.

• Column: The Bangladesh threat

The official said BDR firing came at a time when it was almost decided to conduct a joint inspection of sites on either side to determine if concrete embankments were required to stop erosion of the rivers flowing along the border areas.

An official in the state home department feels that BDR firing might be an attempt to provide cover to infiltrators crossing over to the Indian side.

BSF has intensified patrolling along the state's long border with Bangladesh to stop infiltration in the wake of recent serial blasts in Dhaka and 62 other Bangladesh districts, which might have irked BDR authorities.