The India-Bangladesh border will for the first time witness a Wagah border-like retreat ceremony on October 2, Gandhi Jayanti, where drills by border forces from both the countries will accompany cultural programmes.
Home ministers of both the countries will attend the function, said sources. It would, however, not replicate the aggression expressed by forces of India and Pakistan at Wagah in Punjab during march drills as Bangladesh is a friendly country, said BSF sources, reports TNN.
Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde is expected to be present with his Bangladeshi counterpart at the Petrapole-Benapole border in West Bengal to inaugurate the ceremony on October 2.
The maiden ceremony, which will include ceremonial lowering of flags in the evening, will be conducted by the border guards of the two countries– the Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) dressed in full regalia.
The BSF, on the India side, will create required infrastructure for the people to witness the event and will upgrade the logistics over a period of time.
The ceremony, according to the sources will be “friendly and refined” and will include renditions by famous Bengali poet Kazi Nazrul Islam and Nobel laureate Rabindra Nath Tagore. It will also have participation from BSF Mahila personnel and BGB women personnel.
The total time for the cultural programme and Joint Retreat Ceremony will be around 30 minutes, out of which 18 minutes will be for cultural programme and 12 minutes for Joint Retreat Ceremony drill.
The ceremony is part of the decision to organize joint retreat ceremonies at three places in Eastern theater. It is a result of mutual deliberations during Director General level coordination conference held at Dhaka in 2011 wherein a proposal to the effect was moved as a part of confidence building measures aimed at evolving better and cordial relations between the people of both countries while at same time achieving better synergy and bonhomie between the border guarding forces.
The retreat ceremony will be organized at Petrapole- Benapole Border, Changrabandha-Burimari (both west Bengal) and Akhura-Phulbari (Tripura). Initially the ceremony has been finalized for Petrapole-Benapole and subsequently, it will be organized at rest of the places in a phased manner.
Source: UNBConnect