Pratim Ranjan Bose
It was 11 am on a hot summer day. Hundreds of Bangladeshis were queuing up under the scorching sun at Petrapole border to complete the Customs and immigration formalities.
BSF personnel were trying to push them to a corner as the road space is shared by trucks entering from Bangladesh, and accidents are not uncommon.
The winding queue ends at a dilapidated building complex, where a strong stench of urine greets the visitors. This is the passenger terminal.
Largest land port
The process takes at least two hours and the visitors are free to sit on the floor or wait at the dirty courtyard that resembles a cattle shed. Welcome to Petrapole Land Port, arguably the largest in South Asia in terms of passenger traffic. It is a national shame. For the records, Bangladesh has a decent facility across the border at Benapole.
In 2017-18, India offered 14 lakh visas to Bangladeshis. Of the total, 11.5 lakh or 82 per cent reported at this gate due to its proximity to Dhaka.
There is little to be said of the amenities there. It doesn’t even have adequate toilets, leave alone clean toilets.
In July 2016, India opened a ₹200-crore modern integrated cargo terminal here. But the plan for building a ₹450- crore modern passenger terminal was sent to the freezer. It is awaiting approval for more than a year. As India tripled the daily visa approvals from roughly 3,000 to 10,000, Petrapole became messy. And, who doesn’t know that vested interests thrive in messy situations.
Visitors ill-treated
Apart from having to deal with the unionised transporters and workers known for running extortion cartels, insiders allege, visitors carrying cash above permissible limits are often fleeced by staff members involved in scrutiny. There are no official records though, as “guilty” passengers do not dare to raise a hue and cry. There were reportedly two such incidents the day this correspondent visited.
“We are doing tremendous damage to our national prestige,” said an official responsible for passenger scrutiny.
He has a point. Bangladeshis are India’s largest class of medical tourists, buying costly super-speciality healthcare and generating huge revenues for India’s retail sector. While there are no official statistics, eyewitness accounts suggest they return home with loads of purchases, including substantial portion of premium brands, which are costlier in Bangladesh.
Lax security
The mess doesn’t stop in ill-treating visitors. Ideally, international travellers should be routed through sanitised zone till the completion of immigration procedure. This is to avoid entry of contraband and other security hazards.
In contrast, too many onlookers, mostly local touts, roam around at the zero line at Petrapole and mingle with passengers. The commotion helps many to escape the immigration check. “We find three to four passports without entry stamp, every day,” said an immigration officer.
Police presence
The passenger terminal is owned by the State government. In September 2016, the State set up a police station in the complex, responding to demands from local politicians.
Ideally, no police station should be set up on the international border, leave alone in an international passenger terminal. Available information suggests that the State had not obtained the Centre’s permission for it.
The set-up benefited the unscrupulous. Anyone can enter the complex as a citizen of India and mingle with international passengers. No wonder many terrorists were found to have entered India through this gate.