This is the Petrapole border in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.
Located on the border of India and Bangladesh, this border check post is very important for eastern India as a large scale trade activity takes place on this route.
Petrapole and its nearby Bangaon are always bustling with activity. Kolkata is only about 100 kilometers from here and due to this it has become the most important trade route of eastern India.
Right on the border is Benapole, which is in Bangladesh.
Apart from this, a large number of people from Bangladesh come here for treatment. Whether it is in Kolkata or in any other city of India.
What is the situation at the border
Swapan Mitra’s hotel is right near the border. He is sitting alone at the counter and reading the newspaper.
His hotel is open but there is nothing to eat here. He says that this is the situation for the last one month since the protests started in Bangladesh.
He says, “People stop and eat at my hotel day and night before crossing the border or after coming to India from the border. My hotel is very popular. But for the last one month we are not cooking anything because neither the trucks are moving nor the people are coming and going. There is a strange fear.”
Now there is silence in Petrapole after 6 pm. The Border Security Force puts up barricades on the way, ‘Everything is closed.’
Many trucks are also standing here near the border, which are loaded with goods.
They are all waiting for the situation in Bangladesh to improve, but this situation has remained the same for many days.
Since the situation in Bangladesh has worsened, the Border Security Force has increased the vigilance and security of the border.
On Tuesday, Border Security Force Director General Daljit Chaudhary visited Petrapole and reviewed the situation with senior officials.
India’s northeastern state Meghalaya shares the longest border with Bangladesh. In the current situation, the Meghalaya government has imposed night curfew in the areas adjoining the border.
