Kendrapara: Even as the National Register of Citizens (NRC) identifying over 40 lakh people as illegal immigrants in Assam has stirred a hornet’s nest in the country, as many as 1677 immigrants residing in this district and identified as Bangaladeshis are yet to be deported, a report said.
The state government has issued a high-alert in the coastal districts after publication of the NRC list. The alert was sounded after Intelligence Bureau warned that there could be an influx of Bangladeshi infiltrators, whose names do not feature in the NRC, to Odisha.
As a result, there is every possibility of Bangladeshis entering the coastal districts including Kendrapara through the sea route and porous borders of the state. The coastal district of Kendrapara is known as a safe haven for illegal immigrants as the intruders enter the district mainly through the sea route. However, the state government is yet to strengthen the infrastructure and manpower of the three marine police stations in the district.
SP Niti Sekhar said personnel of the three marine police stations, coastguard and local police are keeping a close watch on the evolving situation and regular patrolling is being undertaken in various strategic locations.
Outgoing Collector Reghu G said the district administration has made arrangements to check illegal immigrations by identifying the fishermen through biometric system and monitoring all information about the fishing boats. Moreover, awareness drive is being undertaken asking people to inform the district police about the suspicious movements of the immigrants they see in their areas.
Bangaldeshi immigrants settled down in Kendrapara when the Centre provided provisional shelter to over 1649 refugees in this district during a civil war in East Pakistan in 1950.
The district administration undertook a survey after the apex court directed for a headcount of illegal Bangaladeshi settlers in 2005. The administration during the survey found 1551 Bangladeshis living in Mahakalapara tehsil, 96 in Pattamundai tehsil and 30 under Rajnagar tehsil and informed the apex court accordingly. The immigrants were soon issued deportation notices but the drive became infructuous later for various reasons.
Later, the district collector convened a meeting September 21, 2017 where issues concerning coastal security and intrusion were discussed threadbare.
The meeting stressed on increasing the coastal security measures, preventing intrusion and introduction of bio-metric identity cards to fishermen. However, due to lack of proper implementation there is an alarming rise of Bangladeshi immigrants in the district.
Lawyer Bidhu Bhushan Mohapatra said after the creation of Bangladesh in 1971, the Prime Ministers of both the countries signed a treaty on the borders of both countries in 1974. Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi also enacted the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) in the Parliament in 1983.
However, it was never implemented till 2005 as the apex court directed to identify the Bangaladeshis after more immigrants were found living in Assam during 1991 and 2001 census. Though 35 years have passed since the enactment of IMDT Act, over three generations of early immigrants have lived in the country.
Similar is the situation in Kendrapara where the relatives of the early immigrants have settled down in the district after the former were rehabilitated in 1950.
Social activist Pratap Padhi said over 78,000 Bangladeshis have been identified in the district out of which 39,000 have received voter identity cards and other benefits. Most of them, living in areas under Jamboo, Talachua and Tantiapal marine police limits, are engaged in prawn cultivation, wildlife poaching and timber smuggling.
The handful of marine police has failed to keep a check on their activities that are also responsible for depletion of green cover in the district, Padhi said. They can identified from their dialect, he added.
PNN
