File picture of a BSF jawan keeping vigil as workers erect a barbed wire fence

Dec. 10: For the residents of Faksherkuti village along the Indo-Bangladesh border in Dhubri district, the grass is indeed greener on the other side.

A huge gate and a barbed wire fence along the border separates the village, located near border pillar number 2,023 under the Kedar BSF outpost, from the Indian side.The Indian village of Bhogdanga has been similarly cut off.

“As many as 870 residents of these two villages have been alienated from the mainland by the fence in spite of being Indian citizens. What kind of justice is this?” asked a villager.

Both villages have to depend on Bangladeshi villages for the basic necessities of life.

A rivulet called Kalidhara separates these two tiny villages. Nobody can enter either village without prior permission from the BSF officials stationed at Kedar outpost.

Mintu Roy, a resident of Bhogdanga, said the villagers had been deprived of “their basic rights as citizens”. There are only two schools — 708 number Bhoganga ME school and Faksherkuti Venture LP school — but the teachers rarely take classes. The villages also lack a healthcare centre and post office.

A community centre set up by the BSF recently as part of its civic action programme is the only sign of progress. The BSF spent Rs 5 lakh on the project.

Hari Kanta Roy, secretary of the village defence party, pointed out that the bridge that connects Bhogdanga to Faksherkuti is in a dilapidated condition and likely to collapse any moment. “Funds sanctioned for a bridge over the Kalidhara have been diverted for other purposes.”

Another resident said funds sanctioned by Delhi for the development of these villages rarely reaches them. “Barring BSF officials and jawans, nobody cares for us. No government official or politician has come to take stock of our problems. It is only the BSF that stands by us and guards the border as well.”

The BSF gates remain open for six hours a day for a period of two hours at a time. They are also opened to the villagers during emergencies.

Faksherkuti and Bhogdanga comprise 630 bighas.