Night fishing has been banned along the riverine border between India and Bangladesh for the time being as Border Security Force (BSF) issued prohibitory orders on Thursday in the wake of the political turmoil in Bangladesh. The ban was imposed to ensure that no Indians were harmed if the BSF had to retaliate to prevent infiltration from the other side of the border.
“We have also banned unnecessary civilian movement on the embankment to prevent any possible security breach,” AK Arya, DIG and BSF South Bengal Frontier spokesperson, said. On Wednesday, commandant of 32 Battalion BSF at Gede Border Outpost, company commander of Border Outpost Ichhamati and personnel of 68 Battalion of BSF South Bengal Frontier conducted village coordination meetings in the border villages. The BSF asked panchayat pradhans, panchayat members and villagers to cooperate with them in maintaining security.
In Bindol village of Raiganj and Hemtabad blocks in North Dinajpur, residents of Koiladangi, Maldah Khand (1), Maldah Khand (2), Bohr BOP, Koiladangi BOP, Malan, and Makrahat are worried as the farmers from these Indian border villages have not been able to go to the agricultural lands across the barbed wire from Wednesday. Access to Indian lands across the barbed wire had been prohibited by the BSF since Wednesday, they said.