Indian Coast Guard left 78 men, women stranded at Mandarbaria Patrol Post in Sundarbans
Shahidul Islam, Satkhira
Indian Border Guard personnel have abandoned 78 men and women in the Mandarbaria area of the Sundarbans in Bangladesh.
After crossing the border into Bangladesh with their multiple boats at around 11:30 am on Friday (May 9), they abandoned the 78 Bangladeshi-origin people in the forest adjacent to Mandarbari.
After receiving information from the local Mandarbaria Forest Department patrol post, Bangladesh Coast Guard personnel set out to rescue the men and women who were stranded in the deep forest.
Md. Mashiur Rahman, Assistant Conservator of Forests of Satkhira Range of the Forest Department, said that on Friday afternoon, they learned that the Indian Border Guard and Coast Guard members had left 63 men and women near the Mandarbaria patrol post. Later, in the evening, they learned that in a second round, 15 more people had been left in separate speedboats at the same place.
A total of 78 people were left behind by the Indian Border Guard and Coast Guard members.
The senior forest department official also said that there is no room to shelter such a large number of people there. Since it is far from the coast, it is not possible to rescue them by Friday night. In addition, it is not clear why and why such a large number of people were left in the forest like this. However, he also confirmed that forest workers and Coast Guard members have left for the scene.
In this regard, Coast Guard Kaikhali BCG Station spokesperson M Malekuzzaman said, the incident is close to Mongla. Therefore, although no Coast Guard team left from Shyamnagar, Coast Guard members may have left for the scene from that direction.
Meanwhile, some reliable sources have said that these women and men are Bangladeshi citizens. However, although they were born in Bangladesh, they have taken citizenship of that country after living in India for a long time. Due to the ongoing tension between the two countries, they may have been detained and thrown into the forest as part of their deportation to Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, Shyamnagar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mst. Roni Khatun has sent adequate dry food and water to the rescue team as there is no food and water for those staying in Mandarbaria. The source confirmed that detailed information about them will be available only after they are rescued and taken to their homes.
Shyamnagar Police Station OC Md. Humayun Kabir Molya confirmed the incident. However, efforts are underway to find out which country they are citizens of and why they were dumped in the forest, the officer-in-charge said.
