Dhaka, Dec. 20 (PTI): The Indian envoy in Dhaka has suggested redrawing Bangladesh-India borders “in a small way” to resolve long-standing problems linked to contiguous enclaves, a report said here today.

“These pieces of land are all contiguous, so there is a possibility that we redraw the international border and finish this problem once and for all,” said Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, the outgoing Indian high commissioner.

“Although people are allowed to cross the border for cultivation, this everyday problem can be resolved through exchange of enclaves, which would require redrawing the international border in a small way,” Chakravarty told the Daily Star newspaper ahead of his departure today on completion of his three-year tenure in Dhaka.

He said residents of the enclaves needed to cross the border every day for cultivation. For that they need to follow official formalities as well as clearance from the frontier guards, the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and India’s Border Security Force (BSF).

According to Bangladeshi officials, the two countries have 162 such enclaves — 111 of them Indian enclaves inside Bangladesh and 51 Bangladeshi enclaves inside India — along the over 4,000km border.