GUWAHATI, March 3 - The State Government is serious about addressing the plight of Indian citizens living beyond the international boundary with Bangladesh, and efforts are on to bring them inside Indian territory or to effect a realignment of the border fencing.
Stating this in the Assembly today in reply to a question raised by AGP legislator Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, who drew his attention to criminal activities perpetrated on Indians by Bangladeshi miscreants, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said that the matter was being taken up with the Union Home Ministry and the Union External Affairs Ministry.
�It is a serious issue and we are concerned about the safety and security of the Indian citizens. As the area in question is outside the border fencing, the Assam Police is powerless to act. Now we either need to bring them inside the boundary line or realign the boundary line. We have taken up the matter in all seriousness with the Central Government and a positive outcome is awaited,� he said.
Patowary said that there were ten such villages in Karimganj sector, 24 in Cachar sector, and two in Dhubri sector.
Earlier, raising the issue during zero hour, Mahanta said drawing newspaper reports that in the latest such incident, a woman and her daughters were assaulted by Bangladeshi miscreants and such brutalities had, in fact, become routine in the habitations of Indian citizens that fall outside the international boundary.
�Unless the government acts firmly and quickly, these people are doomed to a pathetic life,� he added.
Legislators Pradip Hazarika, Kamalakshya Dey Purkayastha and Aminul Islam also voiced grave concern over the border situation affecting Indian citizens and sought the government�s immediate intervention.
�As the areas are in no man�s land, the residents are left to their fate. The Assam Police should be empowered to act in those areas,� Islam said.
