Welcoming the fishermen repatriated from Bangladesh, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday accused India's eastern neighbour of torturing the detainees by tying their hands and legs.
“I can see some of the fishermen limping. Their pain is reflecting the torture that they had to face in Bangladesh prisons. The fishermen’s hands and legs were tied before they were tortured brutally,” said Mamata at Sagar Island, where she was present to oversee the preparation of the upcoming Gangasagar Mela.
In a reciprocal repatriation process, 185 fishermen were handed over to the Coast Guard personnel of both the countries in the international maritime border on Sunday afternoon. The Indian Coast Guard brought 95 fishermen, who were caught in Bangladesh’s territory in October from Bengal to Sagar Island and handed over them to the state police.
Indian authorities also handed over 78 fishermen, who entered India’s waters near Paradip in Odisha.
The repatriation exercise is said to be India’s first move by releasing 12 fishermen from Kakdwip prison in South 24 Parganas, who swam to the shore of Pathar Pratima after their fishing boat capsized, on December 26.
India, on Sunday, repatriated 90 fishermen, including the 12, during Sunday’s exercise.
While addressing a gathering at Sagar Island, Mamata highlighted her government’s welfare scheme for the fishermen, which is said to be aimed to gain political dividend through the repatriation event.
“There are nearly two lakh fishermen in Bengal’s Sundarbans. We have two schemes titled SamudrA Sathi and Matshajibi Bondhu which offer one time grant of Rs 2 lakh if a fisherman dies and Rs 1,000 pension for those who are above 60 years. Besides, we have already offered credit card facility for the fishermen,” said Mamata.
The Bengal CM, however, did not miss the opportunity to hit out at the Centre on the issue of the religious event held annually at Sagar Island.
“The Centre spends thousands of crores for Kumbh Mela but we get nothing for Gangasagar Mela. One central minister had promised to help us to construct a bridge to connect the island with the other parts of the district. But there was no response from the Centre. So, we have decided to construct the four-km bridge on the Muri Ganga river and the required fund, which is Rs 1,500 crore, is ready with us. Tendering process has already been completed. The construction of the bridge will take two to three years as the bridge will cross a river with a four-km width,” she said.
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