By Mir Afroz Zaman
Dhaka, Oct 5 (UNI) On the occasion of autumn Durga Puja in Bangladesh, the check post gate area of Hilli border in North Bengal's Dinajpur has turned into a meeting place for the people of India and Bangladesh. Note that it will take 6 hours and 56 minutes to travel 224 km from Dhaka to Hilli Border by bus.
Hundreds of people are crowding on both sides near the zero point of the border of the two countries. Some of them have come to see the puja, and some have come to meet their relatives.
On the occasion of Durga Puja, the number of passengers crossing the passports of the two countries has also doubled. However, strict surveillance by BGB and BSF was seen.
Every day from 9 am to 6:30 pm, visitors and devotees come to Hilli border in private cars, microbuses and pickups from different parts of the country.
On the other hand, visitors from different places inside India are coming to see the puja of Bangladesh. But due to the barbed wire fence and strict surveillance of the BGB and BSF, the visitors of India and Bangladesh are standing on both sides, far from the zero point of their respective countries, looking at each other, taking pictures and turning sadness into joy.
Shri Ganesh Barman, Karthik, Lakshmi and some visitors who came to the Hilli border said that even if the two Bengals were divided by the barbed wire fence on the border, they could not divide our minds.
Before, two Bengals were same. So we rushed to the border with the pull of love, the pull of life, the pull of the pulse. Also we have many relatives in India. After a long time, we met relatives from afar at the border. Our passports are not visas for which we cannot enter India. Only those who have passports and visas can cross the border to meet their relatives. Those without passport visas are only visiting relatives from afar.
Mr. Manoranjan Gopal, a passport passenger while going through Hilli border to India, said, I am from Naogaon, going to India to see Puja. Pujas in India are much better than ours in Bangladesh. This is why I am going to India. Many such passengers are going from Bangladesh to India and many passengers are coming from India to Bangladesh to see puja.
Meanwhile, Badiuzzaman, officer-in-charge of Hilli Immigration, said that many Hindu visitors from India are coming to Bangladesh to witness Puja on the occasion of Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of Hindus.
On the other hand, many travelers from Bangladesh are also going to India to see puja and visit their relative's house. Due to this, passenger crossing through Hilli immigration check post has increased.
UNI MAZ SHK1918