July 7: They call it the ?nowhere village?, a chicken-shaped Indian enclave in Bangladesh territory that owes all its problems to a geographical quirk and bureaucratic bungling.

Bhogdanga, a 630-bigha strip near Satrasal along the Indo-Bangladesh border in this Lower Assam district, is cut off from the rest of the country in more ways than one. Although all the residents of the area are Indian, they have to depend on the Bangladeshi villages of Balabari, Kacchakuti and Sabarkuti for everything from food to healthcare facilities.

As of now, the only link between the village and this side of the border is a gate.

Bhogdanga has a striking resemblance to Tin Bigha in Cooch Behar subdivision of West Bengal, which was handed over to Bangladesh and made a corridor amidst a hue and cry.

The village, inhabited by about 85 families with 900 members, has a dilapidated lower primary school but the teaching staff seldom attend duty. There is no healthcare centre, no post office and no grocery store.

Unlike other villages along the Golokganj sector of the Indo-Bangladesh border, there are no border roads in and around Bhogdanga, separated from India by a barbed-wire fence. Indians living just outside the fence do not enjoy free passage either.

On the contrary, an iron gate has been constructed at the mouth of the corridor that connects Bhogdanga to Indian territory.

Asked why roads and bridges to the village had not been constructed, a BSF official posted at Kedar Adda said: ?It is because international boundary rules do not allow the construction of any permanent structures within 138 metres (150 yards) of the border.?

Like other gates along the Indo-Bangla border, the one at Bhogdanga is also manned by BSF jawans and villagers are barred from crossing it beyond specified hours. The gate is supposed to remain open for six hours a day ? a maximum of two hours at a stretch ? but the BSF jawans allegedly do not adhere to the timings. ?They open and shut the gates of their own accord,? complains a villager. ?We do not know about the laws governing international boundaries. The only thing visible to us is the indifferent attitude of the district administration, because of which 900 Indian citizens are being alienated from the mainland,? he adds.

Residents of Bhogdanga say they are ready to leave the village, if provided land beyond the fencing. ?At present it is like living in a cage with no hope of a better future,? says a village elder.