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Northeast Diary: Assam’s pain, Bangladesh’s gain
Jayanta Kalita | TNN | Jul 2, 2022, 13:18 ISTOPEN IN APP
Yes, you heard it right! Even as
Assam is battling a devastating flood, neighbouring Bangladesh is flooded with cattle smuggled from the northeast Indian state. Nearly 50,000 cows and buffaloes have been illegally pushed through riverine routes to areas such as Sylhet, Kurigram and Sunamganj in the past one month, a leading Assamese daily reported.
Cattle smuggling to Bangladesh from India has seen a decline in the past few years, according to Union home ministry figures. With Eid al-Adha round the corner, the demand for beef has gone up exponentially; hence the sudden rise in the smuggling of livestock.
And the modus operandi is quite shocking! After the sunset, cattle smugglers in border areas in Assam and Meghalaya become active. According to an earlier report, each cow or buffalo is tied to two banana stems before they are pushed in the deep water. The strong currents of the river take the animals to the other side of the border where another set of people from the syndicate waits for the cattle.
In 2020, the Border Security Force (BSF) seized over 200 cattle while being smuggled to Bangladesh via boats. But the modus operandi adopted during the time of floods may prove quite challenging for BSF given weeds and tree branches flowing in rivers provide a perfect camouflage to the smuggled cattle.
The two countries share a 4,000-km border than runs through West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura. According to Indian government data, 76 percent of the border – 3,140 km – is physically fenced while a large portion of the unfenced area falls in the Northeast dotted with difficult terrains and waterbodies, making it vulnerable to infiltration from Bangladesh as well as smuggling of cattle and narcotic drugs from the Indian side.
India’s home ministry claimed last year there had been a steady decline in cattle smuggling as a result of heightened patrolling in riverine areas, deployment of special surveillance equipment, installation of floating border outposts (BOPs) among other measures taken by BSF.
BSF seized 46,809 and 20,415 cattle in 2020 and 2021 respectively, compared with more than 1.6 lakh in 2016, according to government figures. Now, it seems floods in Assam have boosted the morale of cattle smugglers.
So, how this syndicate works! Well, cattle smugglers from India are treated as traders once they cross over to Bangladesh. They pay a meagre 500 taka (Rs 422) to Bangladeshi officials per cow, following which they are free to sell these cattle to whoever they want. Basically, it’s a well-oiled network that faces no legal hurdle in Bangladesh.
Guests or intruders?
Earlier this week, the
Manipur
police detained 80 Myanmar nationals for illegally staying in the state. Cops claim these “illegal immigrants”, who did not have any valid documents, were living in rented accommodations in Ngathal village and Vaal Veng of Churachandpur district, PTI reported. Those under detention include 25 men, 35 women and 20 children, police said.
Needless to say, the ongoing civil war in military-ruled Myanmar has triggered an influx of refugees into India’s Northeast, which shares a 1,600-km border with the Southeast Asian nation. While Mizoram has provided food, shelter and temporary ID cards to nearly 30,000 refugees, Manipur has taken a tough stand against those coming in from across Myanmar.
In the absence of any refugee laws, India considers all foreigners without valid documents as illegal immigrants. So, the Manipur government appears to be acting as per standard procedures. Mizoram, however, has taken a humanitarian approach to the whole issue. Besides, Mizos share ethnic ties with people across the border.
Nevertheless, the Citizens Committee, Manipur (CCM), a civil society group, has appealed to the state government to treat the Myanmarese nationals “humanely, transparently and by respecting their rights guaranteed by law at every stage of arrest and detention”.
“As done by the Government of Mizoram, the Government of Manipur should seriously consider adopting a smarter and more humane response to the refugee crisis. The first step could be to issue identity cards for the Myanmar nationals living in the state and setting up designated camps with basic facilities where they can spend some time before the situation back home comes to some level of normalcy,” CCM convenor Babloo Loitongam said.
A ‘virus-vaccine’ row in Meghalaya
Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Abhishek Banerjee’s purported remark in which he called Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma a “conman” and the ruling National People’s Party (NPP) a “virus” has triggered a major political row in the state. The TMC became the main opposition party in Meghalaya after former CM
Mukul Sangma and 11 other Congress legislators joined the party last November.
The National People’s Youth Front (NPYF), the youth wing of the NPP, on Thursday hit back, saying Banerjee’s remark was an insult not only to the NPP but to the entire state. NPYF also demanded an apology from Banerjee.
“I have not heard of any scientific term of NPP as a virus. At the same time, I have not heard of any vaccine named Trinamool,” NPYF spokesperson Bajop Pyngrope was quoted as saying by local media.
For the past couple of years, the TMC led by Abhishek’s aunt and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has been making efforts to expand its base in northeastern states such as Tripura, Meghalaya and Assam by inducting former Congress leaders. In Assam, Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev and former state Congress president Ripun Bora crossed over to TMC last year.
Northeast Diary: Assam’s pain, Bangladesh’s gain - Times of India
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