The Assam government on Saturday alleged that Bangladesh has encroached upon 499.79 acres of Indian land, including two tea gardens, and urged New Delhi to take up the matter with Dhaka urgently.
"Our records show that Bangladesh is in illegal possession of 189.06 acres in Assam's Dhubri district while the remaining is in Karimganj district," state Revenue Minister Bhumidhar Barman told journalists.
"Two tea gardens in Karimganj district are under illegal occupation of Bangladesh."
One encroachment dates back to 1948 and another to 1965, he said.
"Although the Indira-Mujib pact was signed in 1974 to resolve border dispute and issues relating to encroachment, the agreement has not been implemented in totality," the minister said.
"We have once again exhorted the central government to ask Dhaka to vacate our land immediately without any confrontation," Barman said.
The barbed wire fencing along the 262 km land border that Assam shares with Bangladesh is nearing completion. "By March 2010, the entire border fencing work would be completed," the minister said.
The porous India-Bangladesh border has always been a bone of contention with allegations that hordes of illegal Bangladeshi migrants enter Assam for livelihood, thereby upsetting the region's demographic profile.
{{/usCountry}}The porous India-Bangladesh border has always been a bone of contention with allegations that hordes of illegal Bangladeshi migrants enter Assam for livelihood, thereby upsetting the region's demographic profile.
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