Humanity knows no border. The people of Bangladesh have shown it by saving the lives of hundreds of flood-hit Indian villagers and giving them shelter, food and emotional support. Around 38 among the 45 unions in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila are under water, thanks to incessant rainfall and the onrush of water down the hills of India. This has left more than four lakh people marooned. The most badly affected unions are Khulaghat, Rajpur, Khuniagach, and Mogalhat. The last one has been hit particularly badly. Most villages of Mogalhat are inundated and many people are
still stranded in some faraway areas of the union. Mogalhat is located right next to the Indian border of Gidaldaha of Dinhata police station in Cooch Behar district of West Bengal. Some Indian villages, such as Doribash, Jaridhorla, and Naigortari, are located only a kilometre or two away from the Bangladesh border.
The Dharla River divides the two countries in this area. Inhabitants of these Indian villages have to go several kilometres to reach their police station. Many of them were forced to enter Bangladesh territory four days ago as the water level of the Dharla reached a threatening point. These Indian villagers had no alternative but to venture into Bangladesh with their children and livestock. Many of them have relatives in Bangladeshi frontier villages. The latter gave them shelter and food for three days.
Around 73 students of Nurani Madrasa of Doribash village in Dindata crossed the border and entered Bangladesh.
Saddam Hossen, the head teacher of the madrasa, said: “On Saturday evening, when the floodwater was rising rapidly, I got worried for my students. Finally, I decided to enter Bangladesh to save their lives. We are very much grateful to Bangladeshi villagers for saving our lives and for giving us shelter, food, and support.”
Madrasa students Ibrahim, 10, and Zannatul Ferdous, 11, told this correspondent at the Dharla River ghat yesterday morning that they were happy and grateful to Bangladeshi villagers for giving them shelter. They were leaving for home.
Shahina Begum, 20, had taken shelter in her father’s house along with her husband and four children. Rafiqul Islam, 55, and his wife Shahena, 40, of Jaridhorla village in Dinhata said they would have been swept away by the floodwaters had Bangladeshi villagers not given them shelter. The chairman of Mogalhat union said he had heard that some Indian villagers had taken shelter in Bangladesh. “If Bangladeshi villagers gave them shelter, they did it on humanitarian grounds and did their duty as good neighbours,” he added. Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB) sources, too, said they would have allowed the Indian villagers to cross the border on humanitarian grounds. However, they are monitoring the situation and gathering information about these villagers, they added. Lt Col Golam Morshed, the 15 Battalion commanding officer, confirmed to The Independent that the Indian villagers were allowed to enter Bangladeshi territory on humanitarian grounds and that they have already left for home.