Border checks, rivers to roads

A team of police personnel and civic volunteers on the Assam border in Baxirhat on Tuesday. (Main Uddin Chisti) 

ANIRBAN CHOUDHURY, TT, Aug 01, 2018, Barovisa (Bengal-Assam border): The Mamata Banerjee government has put the authorities of Alipurduar and Cooch Behar, the two districts of Bengal that share borders with Assam, on high alert following the release of the second draft list of the NRC in the neighbouring state.

A source said the officials have been told to be prepared to handle all kinds of eventualities - from breach of law and order to sudden influx of people - and scale up vigil in border areas like Barovisa, Baxirhat, Jorai More and Mansai.

"A portion of the inter-state border is riverine. Flying squads have been engaged in many places and personnel posted to keep watch on these stretches. They have been asked to send information in case anybody is found coming from Assam," said a senior police officer.

On Tuesday, senior officers, including CID additional director-general Sanjay Singh, Anand Kumar, inspector-general (north Bengal), held a meeting at the office of Alipurduar police chief Sunil Yadav and took stock of security in border areas.

"They will stay in Alipurduar and visit the Assam-Bengal border in Cooch Behar on Wednesday. Everyone coming from Assam is being checked," a police source said.

Nikhil Nirmal, the district magistrate of Alipurduar, spoke to officials of the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd, asking them to ensure that there is no power cut for the next two months in areas like Barovisa and Kumargram.

"Uninterrupted power supply is necessary to ensure security checks are carried out on the inter-state border smoothly. Anti-socials in Assam might use the current situation to sneak in along with other people. That is why there is no place for any laxity. We are also in regular contact with our counterparts in Assam," said Nirmal.

Another official said they had instructions to help anyone from Assam after verifying details. "It's not that the Bengal government is against anyone coming. But we need to know everything happening along the border," said a source.

Amid the anxieties over the NRC and its impact on the border districts of Bengal, Mamata has asked MLAs from Alipurduar and Cooch Behar to return to their constituencies and monitor the situation.

"I returned to Alipurduar on Tuesday on the instructions of the chief minister," said Sourav Chakraborty, the MLA of Alipurduar.

The local economy has been affected. On Monday, people from neighbouring Simultapu and Srirampur in Assam did not come to a weekly market in Barovisa.

"The market here is largely dependent on these people. Later, we learnt that all people (in Assam) were busy checking their names at (NRC) booths," said Rajen Singha, a trader in Barovisa.