Refugees of Bangladesh in Agartala

2008-07-08T07:43:00.000-07:00

I oft and on got obstacles to prepare the schedule of works at Krishnanagar office. Because though the work for relief was my part of duty, but in reality the relief materials supplied to various camps were given under the part of my duties My special duty was to look after if there was any urgency or to see after if arose any type of special circumstance with the refugees or to supply food and medicine to new comer refugees.

Setting up of refugee camps:
On examining the papers I observed that the Tippera Government set up 19 refugee camps within the month of April. So to say, the refugee camps were set overnight in the open places. Fencing these houses with long grasses accommodation was provided to one family per house.
From the month of April the refugees were coming like current waves from different frontiers of Tippera Stale. The Tippera Government had also been selling up one after another refugee camps. For this purpose the Engineering Department of Tippera State set up an independent technical unit. This unit used to look after selling up refugee camps and supply of water and arrangement of sewerage system for the refugees. By building new camps in June and July, the Tippera Government could not meet up the pressure. Because the influx of refugees were so high, that there was no opportunity to assess how many refugees would come and how many camps would be required to set up.

At last, finding no alternative the Stale Government arranged accommodation for the refugees in all hostels of educational institutions, playing grounds, Panchayet office. Community hails and vacant Government buildings.
It may be remembered by the readers that in 1971 the population of Tippera was 14/15 lakhs. Till the month of August equal number of Bangladeshi refugees reached Tippers. There was not a very little space there. The efforts of Government were, might the said somehow defeated. That time the people of Tippera cam forward with open heart that time I saw there was not a single house in Agartala town and in neighboring house, without any refugee of Bangladesh. In fact the entire Agartala and Tippera Stale became the refugee camps for the people of Bangladesh in 1971.
That day not only the Bengali people of Agortala- but also people of various tribes and communities look pan widely at the race of activities for human try in the camps. Humanity became predominant that day irrespective of caste and creed. Although the time was passed by doing relief works, but it could not be realized how the days passed away. Yet the duration of the night appeared to be very long. If it were midnight or late night whenever I went to bed, the mind used to horn me back about my left out father-mother, helpless brother-sister and villagers. I got much sick to remember the inhumane activities happened daily in the midst of works before me in those days. The refugee camps of Tippera was built under the special engineering of Tippers Government Although ration of minimum

department demand was supplied regularly for their subsistence, but the biting of flies and insects. Unhygienic environment and lack of medicines and meals created discuses causing great mortality. Most of the refugees used to suffer dysenteric diseases. And this disease began to spread from one camp to another. At that time the most affected camps caused by Cholera were Kulai, Paijbari regions.

Assignment for selection of young man:
One day Major Khald Mosharcaf came suddenly in our office. He wanted a responsible man whom he wanted to send to a youth camp. Zonal Administrative Officer Kazi Rakibuddin called me. Major Khaled Mosharnif apprised me of the responsibility, handed over a handwritten message to me and orders me to hand over the message to the Camp In-charge. He ordered me to go to Arundhutli Youth Camp by a jeep. I left for the camp with our office Jeep, Rargamati KA-1 (taken from Bangladesh for official work). 1 was directed that many University students coming from Bangladesh had been slaying in that camp. Among them some healthy and Honors students of physics were to be selected and brought here. On the way it began to rain eats and dogs, It was difficult in drive the jeep through high and low red coloured kutcha earthen roads. The red coloured earth is very strong when it is dry and very soft when it is wet. The jeep could not move upward. The life was very risky. If somehow it slipped, it would fell into very deep slopes of the hills causing loss of lives, I bad been remembering Almighty Allah. The driver was very expert. By presence of mind and bravery he tried very hard and reached the camp at last. I handed over the letter of Major Khaled Mosharraf to the camp In-charge. On receiving the letter he called everyone in the house made of tall grasses. According to demand 25/30 young men were rounding suitable, but I could not take such a big number of young men. The direction on me was to take 5 to 6 persons. Then reason of the helplessness of the young men was that after taking training they began to go for fighting. Here they were waiting for two months for lighting. But they were not called. At that moment they got a signal, and that was only for 5 to 6 persons. The minds of the students became frustrated. The training program was also going slow, because it was India or our country was not able to supply such a huge number of arms at that moment. So they had to wait in the youth camps. Same students personally requested me to take them. Many of them also shed tears. My mind became very painful. In every youth camp a good number of young men took shelters. The condition of all was the same. If training could be completed and arms supplied quickly the country could be liberated within a short lime. At last we realized them and selected seven in all. Stil I could not realize what type of work Major Khaled Mosharaf would give to them, later on I came to know that they were given exclusive training and sent to Bangladesh for operation.