Kendrapara: The Citizenship Amendment Bill becoming an Act has reportedly led to a drop in number of tourists visiting the Bhitarkanika National Park and sparked resentment among the Bangladeshi settlers in the district days after the President gave his consent to the bill.
“Yes, there has been a drop in tourist inflow to Bhitarkanika National Park,” a tour operator Manoj Kumar Sahu said.
He said that the winter season is the best time for the tourists to visit any tourist site. People, from in and outside the country, visit Bhitarkanika for its pristine natural beauty and rich bio-diversity, every year.
However, the subsequent violent protests against the Act in various parts of the country have led to a drop in tourist number to Bhitarkanika. This has happened because many Odisha bound trains from Kolkata have been cancelled.
France and other countries have also issued travel advisories for their nationals visiting India. This has led to a drop in tourist inflow to Bhitarkanika this year, he added.
The passage of the bill has also sparked resentment among the Bangladeshi refugees living in seaside areas of the district.
Panicked over the development, some Bangladeshi refugees have started making preparations to leave the district. The matter came to fore after a person Mir Alam of Kholana district in Bangladesh who was earlier living in Batighar area of Mahakalapara block was detained by the Border Security Force of Bangladesh while trying to cross the India-Bangladesh border, Monday. He was caught red-handed and later detained, while trying to sneak into Bangladesh territory, on Indian side of the border, a villager from Batighar area said.
Alam said the passage of bill in both houses of Parliament has triggered panic among the Bangladeshi infiltrators residing in the district.
They are panicked as it will be difficult for them to return to Bangladesh if caught and might even be jailed for living here illegally. As a result, people like Mir Alam and others are fleeing the district for Bangladesh.
They are reportedly using the sea route to return to Bangladesh which they had used to arrive in Kendrapara district.
Reports said over 25,000 refugees infiltrated into the country during the division of Bengal and formation of separate country of Bangladesh. Among them, over 1,237 refugees were rehabilitated in Mahakalapara block of Kendrapara district. Later, the number of Bangladeshis living in this district increased due to large scale infiltrations from Bangladesh.
The Centre issued deportation notice to over 1,551 Bangladeshis in 2005. The 2011 census mentions that over 76,000 Bangladeshis are living in this district.
Caption
Over the years, number of Bangladeshis living in the district has increased due to large scale infiltrations