A file picture of a villager in Jalpaiguri’s Berubari, which will be visited by the team on Wednesday. Berubari is not an enclave but a part of it falls within Bangladesh

Siliguri, May 29: A joint team of officials from India and Bangladesh today visited three of the 111 Indian enclaves landlocked inside mainland Bangladesh to take stock of the situation there.

The visit, observers said, might pave the way for exchange of enclaves, which was mentioned in the Indira-Mujib Treaty of 1974.

The 10-member Indian team, led by Pinak Ranjan Chakraborty, the Indian high commissioner in Bangladesh, and including a joint secretary of the external affairs ministry, entered the neighbouring country through the immigration check post at Changrabandha in Cooch Behar this morning.

“The team was joined by the Bangladesh delegation waiting on the other side and together they visited the Indian enclaves located in areas like Patgram, Burimari and Lalmonirhat,” a senior Indian administrative official said.

After meeting the residents of the enclaves, the joint team returned to Changrabandha and headed for Jalpaiguri.

“Tomorrow morning, they will go Manikganj in Jalpaiguri Sadar block where some of the 51 Bangladeshi enclaves are located,” the official added. “They will also visit the other Bangladeshi enclaves in the Changrabandha area.”

The Bangladesh delegation, sources said, is led by Md Majibur Rehman, a joint secretary in the ministry of home affairs, Bangladesh. It includes officials from the ministry of law, foreign affairs, department of land records and survey, deputy high commissioners and senior officers from Bangladesh Rifles.