Sylhet-Meghalaya Borders
Officials soon to visit disputed points to assess Indian claims
A survey team and officials from BGB and land administration will soon visit the Sylhet-Meghalaya borders where the joint survey by the officials of both sides had to be suspended a few weeks ago.
Contacted, the Additional Deputy Commissioner (revenue) Shamim Al Razi, also the co-ordinator of the regional survey team, told this correspondent yesterday a team from the Directorate of Survey will visit the adversely possessed lands on the borders to assess the Indian claims. The BGB and land officials will visit the borders along with the survey team, he added.
The stalemate in joint survey has been prevailing for weeks as we could not agree with the Indians over survey points on the adversely possessed lands on different borders in the region. Accordingly we, the regional survey team, informed the higher authority of the matter and sought guidelines, the ADC said
Sources said the Indians were pressing to start survey from different points without any supporting documents and ignoring the existing border pillars set in 1947.
Survey on the Sylhet-Meghalaya borders could not be resumed even weeks after the schedule set by the officials of both sides. The survey officials had to suspend the job in December last year following a trouble created by the Indian Khasias and others on Padua-Protappur borders. The survey was again suspended on 5 April as the Indians failed to bring documents in support of their claim for lands inside the Bangladesh territory.
After repeated incidents of killing of Bangladeshis by the BSF personnel, intrusion by Indian Khasia tribesmen for paddy, the both sides decided to conduct a joint survey on Zaintapur, Gowainghat and Kanaighat borders.
Accordingly, the survey began on December 7 last year. But it had to be suspended after the December 14 incident when about 500 armed Indians backed by the BSF intruded into Bangladesh territory and occupied some lands on Padua border. However, they retreated in the face of chase by thousands of villagers.
As the survey resumed April 5 on Dibir haor on Padua borders, the Indians claimed 55.3 acres of land on Dibir haor and 320 acres of land on Padua borders. But they failed to produce documents in support of their claims.
The Indian Khasia tribesmen have been opposing the survey on Dibir haor border in Jaintapur upazila, claiming 55 acres of Bangladesh land as of own.
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