Govt of India 'fails to provide' livelihood to Bangladeshis resettled under 2015 accord

An apartment building for resettlers

By Our Representative
Claimed to have been brought from Bangladesh under the 2015 Land Boundary Agreement between India and Bangladesh, currently residing in two room apartments at Dinhata village-1 under Fakirtari Gram Panchayat, Cooch Behar district, a complaint filed by a senior human rights leader with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairman has said even seven years later the livelihood issues of some 58 families remains resolved.
The 58 families, consisting of 246 people, were brought to India as part of the exchange of erstwhile enclaves between both the countries. On November 24, 2015, these people were taken by bus and kept in temporary settlement camps at Dinhata Krishimela, Kirity Roy, who heads two NGOs, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM) and Programme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity (PACTI), said.
The temporary settlement camp was not fit for human habitation in dearth of jobs, foods, cloths and other basic necessities of life. Though each family was granted one 10/10 feet tin-roofed house with one electric bulb and drinking water facilities, several people from the camp were forced to leave the camp to different states as migrated labour, said Roy.
This happened even though, said Roy, it was mentioned in the Land Boundary Agreement that the livelihood issues of these people will be taken care of by the Indian government. The situation got worse, as the ration given to them was not sufficient for a family, and these people had no way to earn an income, one reason why most of them started work as land labour and some of them migrated to other states.
The situation became so bad in the temporary settlement camp that several people -- Puti Burman, Samsul Haque, Binod Chandra Roy, Dhirendra Chandra Burman and Anila Burman -- “died without proper medical treatment”.
On September 13, 2020, these persons were provided with apartments at Dinhata village-1 under Dinhata Sub-Division and Police Station where they were finally settled. However, some families having more members failed to get accommodation.
Only some of the members of the family were given apartments, whereas others have to live outside, in shack-like structures made with plastic in the open field, said Roy, adding, these families are provided with flat residence despite the fact that they traditionally used to keep cows, goats, and ducks, catch fish, and grow vegetables.
Worse, the flats provided to them are in bad condition. Cracks in the walls of the flats are open. The district administration of Cooch Behar has not issued any documents to these persons so that they could substantiate their ownership rights.
A Parliamentary standing committee report led by Sashi Tharoor, MP, recommended in that an Indian citizen who return from Indian enclave situated in Bangladesh should be provided compensation and rehabilitation by the Central government, yet, no compensation has provided to these people. \

In August 2022, those residing in the Dinhata Permanent Rehabilitation Centre submitted a mass deputation before the Cooch Behar district administration, but till date no positive action has been taken by the concerned authorities, complained Roy.

Comments

Importance of Bangladesh for India amidst 'growing might' of China in South Asia

By Samara Ashrat* The basic key factor behind the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh is its geographical location. The country shares land borders with Myanmar and India. Due to its geographical position, Bangladesh is a natural link between South Asia and Southeast Asia. The country is also a vital geopolitical ally to India, in that it has the potential to facilitate greater integration between Northeast India and Mainland India. Not only that, due to its open access to the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh has become significant to both China and the US.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Unlike other revolutionaries, Hindutva icon wrote 5 mercy petitions to British masters

By Shamsul Islam* The Hindutva icon VD Savarkar of the RSS-BJP rulers of India submitted not one, two,or three but five mercy petitions to the British masters! Savarkarites argue: “There are no evidences to prove that Savarkar collaborated with the British for his release from jail. In fact, his appeal for release was a ruse. He was well aware of the political developments outside and wanted to be part of it. So he kept requesting for his release. But the British authorities did not trust him a bit” (YD Phadke, ‘A complex Hero’, "The Indian Expres"s, August 31, 2004)

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at top US press club

By Our Representative The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."

Chinese pressure? Left stateless, Rohingya crisis result of Myanmar citizenship law

By Dr Shakuntala Bhabani* A 22-member team of Myanmar immigration officials visited Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar to verify more than 400 Rohingya refugees as part of a pilot repatriation project. Does it hold out any hope for the forcibly displaced people to return to their ancestral homes in the Rakhine state of Myanmar? Only time will tell.

China ties up with India, Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingyas; Myanmar unwilling

By Harunur Rasid* We now have a new hope, thanks to news reports that were published in the Bangladeshi dailies recently. Myanmar has suddenly taken initiatives to repatriate Rohingyas. As part of this initiative, diplomats from eight countries posted in Yangon were flown to Rakhine last week. Among them were diplomats from Bangladesh, India and China.

40,000 Odisha adolescent girls ask CM: Why is scheme to fight malnutrition on paper?

By Our Representative In unique a postcard campaign to combat malnutrition, aimed at providing dietary diversity, considered crucial during adolescence, especially among girls, signed by about 40,000 adolescent girls from over 10,000 villages, have reminded Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik that his government's Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG), which converged with Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman ( POSHAN ) 2.0 in 2021, is not being implemented in the State.

Natural farming: Hamirpur leads the way to 'huge improvement' in nutrition, livelihood

By Bharat Dogra* Santosh is a dedicated farmer who along with his wife Chunni Devi worked very hard in recent months to convert a small patch of unproductive land into a lush green, multi-layer vegetable garden. This has ensured year-round supply of organically grown vegetables to his family as well as fetched several thousand rupees in cash sales.

Over-stressed? As Naveen Patnaik turns frail, Odisha 'moves closer' to leadership crisis

By Sudhansu R Das Not a single leader in Odisha is visible in the horizon who can replace Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has ruled Odisha for nearly two and half decades. His father, Biju Patnaik, had built Odisha; he was a daring pilot who saved the life of Indonesia’s Prime Minister Sjahrir and President Sukarno when the Dutch army blocked their exit.

Search This Blog