BSF deployment moved to zero line along Bangladesh border in Murshidabad

Sub : Geo

Sec :Indian Geo

Context:

The Border Security Force (BSF) has repositioned its personnel along the zero line of the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district, particularly in the char lands along the Padma River.

Current Deployment:

BSF has deployed forces directly at the zero line along the border.
Deployment spans from Farakka to Kakmarichar in Murshidabad.
Three BSF battalions from the South Bengal Frontier are responsible for the deployment: Battalion 73, Battalion 146, Battalion 149.

Benefits of the Move:

For Farmers:
- Farmers can now access their lands without needing prior permission from the BSF.
- Reduces hardships for farmers working on chars, which lack basic amenities like power and water.
Border Security:
- Improves protection of the border.
- Eases the process for fencing and surveying the international border.

Background on Char Lands:

The riverine areas (island) of the river Brahmaputra, locally known as “Char/ Chapori”.
Chars are temporary land formations of sand and silt created by rivers, which appear and disappear based on river flow.
These areas are crucial for farming but pose logistical and security challenges due to their dynamic nature.
The chars follow a peculiar pattern of migration.
They are subjected to erosion on their upstream and deposition on the downstream, due to which they migrate downstream.
This affects the geometry and location of the chars during floods almost every year.
Issues with Char area:
- The physical, sociological and institutional constraints on development of Char Areas are many and complex.
- Such as virtual absence of all weather communication with the main banks, reliable means of intra and inter char mobility, inadequate growth of transport and basic infrastructure like surface roads, health and drinking water, delivery systems for farm inputs, marketing, agro-services electricity and education.
- The problems in the Char Areas are unique in nature, due to constant threat from flood and erosion during the rainy season.
- The land mass is segregated and cut off from each other, making it very difficult for taking any major scheme for road communication, irrigation, Power supply or setting of educational institutions.

India- Bangladesh Border:

The Bangladesh–India border, known locally as the Radcliffe line (IB), is an international border running between the republics of Bangladesh and India that demarcates the six divisions of Bangladesh and the Indian states.
Bangladesh and India share a 4,096-kilometre-long (2,545 mi) international border, the fifth-longest land border in the world, including 262 km (163 mi) in Assam, 856 km (532 mi) in Tripura, 318 km (198 mi) in Mizoram, 443 km (275 mi) in Meghalaya and 2,217 km (1,378 mi) in West Bengal.
The Bangladeshi divisions of Mymensingh, Khulna, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Sylhet, and Chittagong are situated along the border.
West Bengal shares a 2,216-km border with Bangladesh, guarded by three BSF frontiers.
Key Border Crossings:
- Prominent land ports include Petrapole-Benapole, which handles significant trade and passenger traffic.
- Other crossings: Akhaura (Tripura), Hili (West Bengal), and Dawki (Meghalaya).