AGARTALA, Sept 12 - Tripura Government has called for further survey as per the protocol signed by India and Bangladesh for exchange of enclaves before any transfer of the enclave in State�s Muhurichar.
�A joint survey by India and Bangladesh demarcated that Muhurichar in Belonia sub-division of South Tripura be handed over to the neighbouring country and Chandan Nagar in Kamalpur sub-division of Dhalai district remained with us. During the survey, there was no representative of the State. So, we have demanded a fresh survey before handing over the enclave,� State Revenue Minister Badal Chowdhury told reporters here on Friday.
�There is no problem regarding Chandan Nagar, but if Muhurichar is handed over to Bangladesh in accordance with the recent joint survey, the security of the Belonia town, the district headquarters of South Tripura district, would be at stake. State Revenue Secretary, Puneet Agarwal also informed Bangladesh that Tripura had opposed that during the sixth Bangladesh-India Joint Boundary Working Group meeting in Dhaka last month,� he added.
India handed over 110 of the 111 enclaves to Bangladesh and received 51 enclaves in return on July 31.
Around 1,500 people have been living in Chandan Nagar, long before the partition of India in 1947, and more than 50 farmers have been cultivating in the �Muhurichar� for ages.
The dispute over the �char� between India and the then East Pakistan started after 1965 and the border guards of the two countries exchanged fire on several occasions.
Tripura has a 856-km long border with the neighbouring country which surrounds the State on three sides. � PTI
