BSF blocks jute cultivation near Bangladesh border

Indian farmers have recently alleged that BSF is preventing jute cultivation near the Bangladesh border in order to have a clear view in the Dinhata subdivision of Cooch Behar. 

There are concerns among security experts as to why measures of this extent need to be carried out with the presence of high-tech monitoring devices. 

Complaints stating that jawans have also forcibly seized their jute seeds were received by the sub-divisional officer (SDO), reports Telegraph India.

The Union home ministry has placed a ban on cultivating any crop that grows above a height of three feet on any plot beyond the border fences. Jute plants are known to grow above 10 feet tall. 

"We don't grow jute beyond the fence because of this ban. From this year they are not allowing us to grow jute even within the Indian mainland," said Shafiul Mian, a farmer from Gitaldaha in Dinhata.

Shafiul said: "They say that as jute plants grow up to 10 to 12 feet, they don't get a clear view of the border. When we asked to see the orders, they could not produce any documents. But it's difficult to argue with them."

Farmers have claimed that the current ban extends up to 150 yards inside the fences. 

The controversy has allegedly taken place after BSF constables aggressively confronted a young farmer for being on the roads after 6pm based on an unofficial curfew placed by the force in Dinhata. 

SDO Himadri Sarkar said he had approached the state government to find out whether there was any official restriction on cultivating jute in areas inside the border fencing.

"Once we receive the communication, the matter will be taken up with the BSF," Sarkar said.

There had been complaints of the jawans confiscating jute seeds from the farmers. 

"This is the sowing season. The plants start growing in a couple of months and monsoon is the harvesting time.... If they take the seeds away, how can we grow jute?" a farmer said.

"A farmer can earn around Rs 25,000 by selling the jute produced on one acre of land," said Abdur Rauf, a Forward Bloc leader who has been organising farmers' movements on border issues for years.

According to a senior Indian police officer, one didn't need a clear physical view of the terrain for surveillance nowadays — it could be done from inside a room using gadgets like CCTV cameras and drones.

"Senior BSF officers often speak about upgrading their surveillance processes through night-vision cameras, sophisticated binoculars and the illumination of border stretches. But this move proves that the BSF still depends on old systems of surveillance," the police officer claimed. 

Cooch Behar is a leading jute-growing district, with about 80 per cent of its more than 5 five lakh farmers cultivating the crop.

Bengal accounts for about 83 per cent of India's jute production, reports Telegraph India.

The state produces about 85 lakh bales (one bale equals 180 kilos) of raw jute that serve as the principal raw material for mills located in the southern districts.

"If the (border) ban is actually implemented, the supply of raw jute will be affected and the industry will suffer," a jute industry insider said.

"Jute is a major source of earning in this region," he said. "If they (BSF) keep antagonising the people living along the borders, they will not get the local cooperation without which they cannot carry out their job."