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

An apartment building for resettlers

By A 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

Plastic burning in homes threatens food, water and air across Global South: Study

By Jag Jivan In a groundbreaking study spanning 26 countries across the Global South , researchers have uncovered the widespread and concerning practice of households burning plastic waste as a fuel for cooking, heating, and other domestic needs. The research, published in Nature Communications , reveals that this hazardous method of managing both waste and energy poverty is driven by systemic failures in municipal services and the unaffordability of clean alternatives, posing severe risks to human health and the environment.

Economic superpower’s social failure? Inequality, malnutrition and crisis of India's democracy

By Vikas Meshram India may be celebrated as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, but a closer look at who benefits from that growth tells a starkly different story. The recently released World Inequality Report 2026 lays bare a country sharply divided by wealth, privilege and power. According to the report, nearly 65 percent of India’s total wealth is owned by the richest 10 percent of its population, while the bottom half of the country controls barely 6.4 percent. The top one percent—around 14 million people—holds more than 40 percent, the highest concentration since 1961. Meanwhile, the female labour force participation rate is a dismal 15.7 percent.

The greatest threat to our food system: The aggressive push for GM crops

By Bharat Dogra Thanks to the courageous resistance of several leading scientists who continue to speak the truth despite increasing pressures from the powerful GM crop and GM food lobby , the many-sided and in some contexts irreversible environmental and health impacts of GM foods and crops, as well as the highly disruptive effects of this technology on farmers, are widely known today.

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.

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra* The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

'Restructuring' Sahitya Akademi: Is the ‘Gujarat model’ reaching Delhi?

By Prakash N. Shah* A fortnight and a few days have slipped past that grim event. It was as if the wedding preparations were complete and the groom’s face was about to be unveiled behind the ceremonial tinsel. At 3 PM on December 18, a press conference was poised to announce the Sahitya Akademi Awards .

The war on junk food: Why India must adopt global warning labels

By Jag Jivan The global health landscape is witnessing a decisive shift toward aggressive regulation of the food industry, a movement highlighted by two significant policy developments shared by Dr. Arun Gupta of the Nutrition Advocacy for Public Interest (NAPi).

The illusion of nuclear abundance: Why NTPC’s expansion demands public scrutiny

By Shankar Sharma* The recent news that NTPC is scouting 30 potential sites across India for a massive nuclear power expansion should be a wake-up call for every citizen. While the state-owned utility frames this as a bold stride toward a 100,000 MW nuclear capacity by 2047, a cold look at India’s nuclear saga over the last few decades suggests this ambition may be more illusory than achievable. More importantly, it carries implications that could fundamentally alter the safety, environment, and economic health of our communities.

Madhav Gadgil: The ecologist who taught India to listen to nature

By Raj Kumar Sinha* Among the exceptional individuals who laid the intellectual and scientific foundations of environmental conservation in India—and challenged the dominant development discourse—Professor Madhav Dhondo Keshav Gadgil stands as a towering figure. He was not only a pioneering ecologist, but also among the first to view environmental protection through the lens of democracy, local communities and social justice.

Search This Blog