BSF, land port officials keep things moving along border

Petrapole (North 24 Parganas): The Border Security Force (BSF) and the Land Port Authority of India (LPAI) on Monday ensured that there was no disruption for passengers and transporters crossing the border and export-import activities following the protests on Petrapole border in North 24 Parganas.Thousands from various Hindu religious organisations, led by Swami Paramatmananda, president of All India Santa Samaj, and BJP supporters, including MLAs led by opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari, launched a protest under the banner of ‘Sanatani Oikya Parishad' at the Indo-Bangla Petrapole border on Monday afternoon. They demanded immediate release of Iskcon monk Chinmoy Krishna Das and stern action against the alleged atrocities on minorities in Bangladesh.Adhikari issued an ultimatum on Monday to Muhammad Yunus, chief adviser of Bangladesh's caretaker govt, demanding the release of Das and other detained monks by Tuesday. He warned of a five-day blockade at the border, the largest land customs station in Asia, next week if the demand was not met.The export-import operation and crossing the border for both Bangladeshi and Indian nationals were normal since Monday morning. "There was no disruption in goods vehicles transportation through the border while loading and unloading jobs were also carried out smoothly till Monday evening. Nearly 160 goods-loaded trucks crossed over to Bangladesh from India, and 148 trucks crossed over to India till 5 pm on Monday," said Kartik Chakraborty, secretary of Customs Clearing Agent Association, Petrapole.According to LPI sources, both the LPAI and BSF shut access to the border entry points during the demonstration. During the protest rally, Adhikari claimed that commercial operations at the border were halted for 24 hours as a mark of protest. Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, "Entire Bangladesh is not corrupt. Suvendu is politicising the issue."