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Download PDF Border guards of both Bangladesh and India started pulling out their additional troops from Zakiganj border area yesterday following the agreement at sector-commander-level flag meeting on Sunday.
Meanwhile, villagers started returning to their homes, five days after the 14-hour firefight between Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and Indian Border Security Forces (BSF) on Wednesday.
While visiting Uttarkul and Amolshid border outposts (BoP), The Daily Star correspondent found the additional BDR forces, who were deployed along the border following reinforcements by their counterpart, were packing and returning to their barracks.
A BDR official, on condition of anonymity, said they have observed BSF withdrawing their additional forces from the border areas.
BSF had gathered a huge number of additional forces, set up more camps, dug new trenches and bunkers, and installed heavy mortars along the border area after the Wednesday night’s battle. The Daily Star correspondent, while visiting the border on Sunday, had also seen piles of earth and a few bunkers on the other side of the border, which the BDR claimed were recently constructed.
Around 20,000 people of 15 villages had been living elsewhere since the Wednesday night’s battle. However, hundreds of villagers were seen returning to their houses on foot or on rickshaws as on festive occassions.
At the villages, the doors of houses were found locked, homesteads deserted and in some cases damaged or destroyed in blasts, trees burned by mortar and heavy artillery shells and paddy fields with craters made by shells.
More than six hundred families, who have been cultivating their lands there since 1947, are unsure if they could survive this season as the battle left their crops destroyed.
Asma Begum, a resident of Kazipara under Barothakure union, expressed her joy with a smile when asked how she felt about returning home after five days.
“My husband, along with thousands of others, waited all day to know about the decisions of the flag-meeting on Sunday,” she said. “On Sunday evening, he rushed to my father’s house, where we took refuge, to tell us about it,” she added.
Asma said they had taken refuge in her father’s house in Kashkonpur about five miles from the border area.
So did return, Kazi Mostak Ahmed of Chowdhurypara, Abul Kalam of Nayapara, Ainal of Amolshid, and many others of the 15 villages, which were deserted during the battle.
People told stories about the terrible Wednesday night they had to go through and how they managed to flee the firefight.
“Of course, the blessings of the 360 awlias and pirs of the district have saved us, otherwise, many would have died in the rain of mortar shells fired on that night,” said Nasir Uddin, chairman of Barothakure union.
“People fled in groups under the cover of night, there were booms and bangs, flames and explosions everywhere but luckily, none of those shells fell on them,” he added.
BDR, however, did not allow the farmers to return to their farmlands yesterday even though it was decided in the flag meeting that whoever has the possession of the lands would enjoy cultivation rights.
“We would let them go to their farmlands after a few days when reinforcements on both sides are completely withdrawn,” a camp commander told The Daily Star.
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