Wired fence stands in way of stable future for Dhubri border voters

Dhubri: Bhogdanga, a village beyond the barbed-wire fencing in the Golokganj sector of the India-Bangladesh border in Dhubri district, is looking to the next govt in Dispur for relief from movement restrictions that pose a challenge for residents in need to access essential facilities lying within the fence.

The village has 438 voters, all living within the Indian territory but cut off from the mainland by the fence. Residents say they must seek permission from BSF personnel posted at an iron gate to move in and out, as there is no free passage between the village and the rest of the country.

When asked, former student leader of Satrasal village Babul Roy said the fencing was a result of Assam’s six-year anti-foreigners movement and that work began after the 1985 Assam Accord.

“Due to international boundary law, a barbed-wire fencing had to be erected 150 yards away from the Zero Border line, and this was how the Bhogdanga and Fauskerkuti villages came to be placed outside the country’s mainland and beyond the fence,” Roy added.

Residents say the fencing has left lakhs of bighas of cultivable land beyond the barrier, making farming difficult because of restrictions on access.

Romen Das of Satrasal-Part II said the 33-km Golokganj border stretch in Dhubri district is lined with several iron gates, Border Out Posts and BSF company headquarters. “Anybody having land has to follow the timing fixed by BSF. It first opens at 7am and closes at 8am, it then reopens at 11am and closes at 12 noon and again opens at 4pm and closes at 5pm. Due to restrictions, I hardly cultivate anything on my 11 bighas,” Das lamented.

Several border residents with land outside the fence said they have long demanded land in exchange at a suitable location, but those remains unfulfilled. They said they are now placing hopes on the new govt. The restrictions have also contributed to a steady decline in Bhogdanga’s population, villagers said.

Mintu Roy said the village had more than 900 voters three decades ago, but the number has now fallen to 438, including 243 men and 195 women. The village has polling booth no.-14 at no.-708 Bhogdanga Kuti Lower Primary School.

First-time voter Raju Roy said villagers must travel long distances for medical care, while students struggle to reach schools and colleges. “We need a solution to this problems.”