Krishnagar (Nadia), Dec. 22: Residents of Charmeghna, a village on the bank of the Mathabhanga river and the Bangladesh border, are now living in fear. They are being kept out of India’s border fence.

Pushed out of India and not being part of Bangladesh, the villagers feel they would be easy prey to criminals. About 600 villagers put up stiff resistance 10 days ago when Central Public Works Department (CPWD) workers began erecting the barbed wire fence on the 2-km stretch along the border at Charmeghna. The villagers lay on the ground and prevented the CPWD workers from doing their work.

On Friday, residents of the village, 200 km from Calcutta, moved the high court with the plea that they should not be kept outside the fence. The villagers have also threatened to go on a hunger strike.

Nadia district magistrate Kanwaljeet Singh Cheema said he has asked the subdivisional officer of Tehatta to meet the villagers and look into their demand. He added that a meeting would soon be held where officials of the Border Security Force (BSF) and the CPWD will be present.

“It is unfortunate that the Charmeghna villagers feel they will be cut off from the mainland once the fence is erected. They are afraid that once it is put up, the administration will forget them and not tend to their needs. We are trying to convince them that this will not be the case and their interests — security and other basic amenities — will be fully protected,” said Cheema.

Representatives of Charmeghna had earlier agreed to the construction of the fence, the district magistrate said.

District officials said the fence could not be set up between the border and Charmeghna because of the Mathabhanga. “We had to keep space for the border road and because of the river, there was not enough room for it. The decision to keep Charmeghna out followed,” an official said.

Fencing along a one-kilometre stretch is complete. BSF deputy inspector-general R.C. Saxena, who visited Charmeghna after work was stalled, said: “We told the villagers we will look after their safety and security.”