SHILLONG, Feb 16 � Meghalaya Chief Minister DD Lapang today apprised the Union Home Minister, P Chidambaram about the plight of the displaced people in Muktapur and requested him to take up the matter at his level with the Bangladesh Government.
Meanwhile, panic-stricken villagers along the Indo-Bangla border near Muktapur, Jaintia Hills district, have moved out and are taking refuge in nearby jungles and villages for safety after Sunday�s �unprovoked firing� by Bangladesh Rifles (BDR).
The bullet marks on the walls of houses in Muktapur village bear evidence of BDR�s firing across the border. Over 600 rounds of fire were exchanged intermittently in a span of four hours between the Border Security Force (BSF) and the BDR on Sunday. This was the second such firing incident reported between the two border guarding forces in less than a fortnight in the area.
The Muktapur LP School building bore several bullet marks, so too an adjacent temple. There were bullet marks on other sites in the village too.
�We don�t feel secure here anymore so the women and children and many others have moved out of the villages. We have never come across such heavy exchange of fire in our lifetime,� Muktapur�s former headmen, Manoj Mannar narrated.
About 100 odd families, especially those with women and children have moved out of Muktapur, Amki, Amlympiang, Amsynram and other villages along the Indo-Bangla border. They are either taking shelter in villages far from the border or are taking refuge in makeshift tents set up in nearby jungles.
�Nobody from the State Government has visited us after Sunday�s firing. There is a lot of insecurity here,� Mannar lamented.
However, Minister in-charge, Border Area Development, Prestone Tynsong told The Assam Tribune, necessary instructions have been given to the Deputy Commissioner of Jaintia Hills to assist the displaced people with the help of the BSF.
BSF Inspector General (Assam-Meghalaya) Frontier, Prithviraj, meanwhile, said, the situation was normal in the area and both sides have agreed to �maintain status quo� in the area.
Muktapur is in adverse possession of India. Bangladesh claims it as part of its territory. Some 20 km west of Muktapur is Pyrdiwah, another village claimed by Bangladesh and in 2001, BDR unsuccessfully tried to seize it.
Prithviraj believes that trouble in Muktapur started after a particular �over-enthusiastic� BDR commandant took over recently.
