Bangladesh crisis: BSF issues high alert along border in West Bengal

Kolkata: The Indo-Bangladesh border region in West Bengal has been put on high alert on Monday following the ongoing unrest in the neighbouring country, officials said.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appealed to the people of West Bengal to maintain peace and avoid provocation. The ongoing turmoil has also "halted" trade between the two neighbouring nations.

Air India and IndiGo cancelled scheduled flights to Dhaka, while bus and train services between West Bengal and Bangladesh were also affected. According to BSF sources, a "high alert" has been issued across all its formations along the 4,096-km India-Bangladesh border in the wake of developments in the neighbouring country.

"A high alert has been issued and we are keeping a close tab on the movement in the bordering areas so that no untoward incident takes place," a BSF official said. BSF Director General (Acting) Daljit Singh Chawdhary and other senior commanders toured several bordering areas in West Bengal to review the security situation.

Chawdhary toured North 24 Parganas district and the Sundarbans riverine area to review preparations, a spokesperson for the South Bengal Frontier of the force headquartered in Kolkata said. West Bengal shares a total of 2,217 kilometres of its border with Bangladesh.

According to state government officials, the police have also been instructed to keep a close tab on the movement in the bordering areas. "Steps need to be taken to stop any form of provocation here using incidents in Bangladesh," an official said.

The chief minister said, "I would appeal to all citizens of West Bengal to maintain peace and avoid all forms of provocation."

Declining to comment on developments in Bangladesh, Banerjee told reporters that it is a matter for the Ministry of External Affairs to respond. The services of Kolkata-Dhaka-Kolkata Maitree Express will remain cancelled on Tuesday, the Eastern Railway said, citing a message from the authorities concerned in Bangladesh. The services of Maitree Express, which has not been operational since July 19, will remain suspended on August 6, the ER said in a statement.

The operations of the bi-weekly Kolkata-Khulna-Kolkata Bandhan Express have also remained cancelled since July 21 following large-scale violent protests. Air India and IndiGo cancelled scheduled flights to Dhaka with immediate effect on Monday due to the emerging situation in the wake of unrest in Bangladesh. A Dhaka-bound IndiGo flight from Chennai was diverted to Kolkata following the unrest in Bangladesh and the closure of the airport in its capital on Monday, an official said here.

Air India also decided to cancel all its scheduled operations to and from the capital of Bangladesh. The bus services between both countries have also been affected by the ongoing unrest. Meanwhile, Indo-Bangladesh trade has 'halted' this afternoon amid unrest in the neighbouring country.

West Bengal Exporters Coordination Committee secretary Ujjal Saha said that due to lack of clearance from Bangladesh customs at their land ports, export and import activities were stalled in all land ports. "There had been some movement in the morning, but later it stopped," he said.

Petrapole, located in Bongaon in North 24 Parganas district, serves as South Asia's largest land port and is crucial in facilitating trade between India and Bangladesh, with hundreds of trucks crossing daily under normal circumstances. BSF has beefed up patrol there.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday resigned and left the country, several news reports said, amid massive protests against her government that claimed more than 106 lives in the last two days. An interim government is taking over, Bangladesh Army Chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman announced on Monday.