One year of enclave exchange today

The government has taken steps to expedite work for the socio-economic development of the former enclave people of Panchagarh.

Palli Biddut Samity under Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) set up 226 kilometres of electricity supply line costing Tk 27 crore, and gave electricity connection to 8,504 families in the last one year. 

Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) has given work order for construction of 43 kms of road and about 100 kms of bridges and culverts in the former enclave areas in three upazilas of the district under rural infrastructure development project.

LGED has also started construction of two educational institutions at Garati village in Panchagarh Sadar and at Kaliganj in Boda upazla of the district.

 Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) is conducting two schools for farmers, providing training to 570 farmers, and has given 12 tree saplings to each of them.   

The government has also brought 1,109 old people under elderly allowance programme, 474 under widow allowance and 247 under disabled allowance.

Youth Development Directorate provided training on knitting and linking machine operation to 82 youths of the enclaves while 255 were given cow rearing training,   Deputy Director of district Youth Development Directorate Abul Hossain said. 

Preparation of voter list of former enclave people was conducted from July 17 to July 25. 

Hira Mohon, 60, of Doikahta village said they would elect the chairman and members in the next UP election as the list would be completed soon. 

As many as 478 people of 95 families from 36 erstwhile Indian enclaves in Panchagarh went to India in five separate batches on November 22, 23, 24, 26 and 30 last year. A total of 979 people from 111 former Indian enclaves in Lalmonirhat, Kurigram and Panchagarh districts opted to be Indian nationals.

Following the historic swap on July 31, some 111 former Indian enclaves situated inside Bangladesh inclduing Panchagarh, Kurigaram, Lalmonirhat and Nilphamary districts became the part of Bangladesh, while 51 Bangladeshi enclaves went to the possession of India, ending nearly seven decades of sufferings of over 40,000 people.