Economic Highlights

New Delhi, 2 August 2014 

Bangla Connection

ILLICIT TRADE, BAZAARS THRIVE

By Shivaji Sarkar

It’s a murky economy that thrives in West Bengal, bordering the large stretch of Bangladesh border. The daily turnover of illicit trade – arms, fake currency, drugs and goods of daily usage – is stated to be a few thousand crore every day and at least Rs 4 lakh crore a year.

The porous border in reality extends much beyond the marked boundaries or the fences where it has been built. Neither the local administration nor the Border Security Force (BSF) has the capacity to check the contraband flow. Half of Bangladesh border is along West Bengal.

The West Bengal administration in Murshidabad, Malda and Birbhum is well aware of the movement of goods. If you ask them they would readily provide the dossier on the trucks, vans and other vehicles or men involved in the illicit trade. According to them, every fifth vehicle moving around in the area is a courier of contraband.

The destination of arms is specifically to Jharkhand, where Maoists reportedly make purchases for their all-India operations. These sophisticated arms find their way into Bangladesh from various sources, including Myanmar, Pakistan and China.

The administration states that since the year 2000, a large influx of minorities from Bangladesh has changed the demography of the region. The organized gangs operate day and night with tact, might and brazen force to keep the administration, of all sorts, at bay.

As you move along the region, your vehicle is marked. None disturbs it but is watched closely lest you go off the mark to have a brush with their activities. The lush rain-soaked paddy fields conceal the reality. To a visitor it’s a pleasant scenario and one enjoys it till your local friend tells you that the hay-stacked truck that passes by is carrying arms and drugs!

As you trudge some more miles another van is reportedly said to be carrying fake currency. Seizures do place at times. In June and July, fake Indian currency worth Rs 19 lakh has been seized in Murshidabad. There had been smaller seizures by the State crime branch from one Jiyarulislam Shaikh of Mursidabad of fake Indian currency worth Rs 41,000.

This is considered a mere tip of the iceberg. On February 11, 2014, the then Finance Minister P Chidambaram said fake currencies worth Rs. 107.33 crore were seized in three-and-half years till June 2013. Fake currencies with face value of Rs. 23.66 crore were seized in 2010; Rs 31.46 crore in 2011; Rs. 34.57 crore in 2012; and Rs. 17.64 crore until June 2013. “In terms of available estimates, the volume of fake currency recovered and seized in India is not more than 0.003 per cent”. Though there are many points through which fake currency is smuggled in, the administration in West Bengal does not mind admitting that the largest flow is through their State be it from Bangladesh or Nepal border.

The India-Bangladesh border runs through rivers, ponds, agricultural fields, villages and even houses where the entrance is in India and the backdoor in Bangladesh. It is perhaps the most complex land border anywhere in the world. That is why for nearly three decades this long stretch of the border remains the hub for illegal migration, human trafficking, smuggling of narcotics, guns and ammunition and essential supplies. The ease with which smugglers can bring in arms and ammunition and terror infiltrators to cross over into India is, perhaps, not adequately understood in the corridors of power in New Delhi.

The BSF has identified 46 places prone to infiltration. Fencing of the border has helped partially. It has, however, not stopped flow of all that is illicit including millions of Bangladeshis. The local saying is that coming up of a new place of worship means more money is flowing in and more murky activities are on the rise.

But the latest census figures show that the demography of the six border districts of West Bengal have dramatically changed because of illegal migration. It is changing the economy of the region. Some ruling Trinamool Congress party leaders are also allegedly helping all these illicit activities.

The organized gangs are also indulging in “tolabazi” – extortion – on the isolated points at roadsides. They are seen doing day and night. Each passing vehicle has to pay Rs 10 to 100, sometimes more. A stretch of 100 km would have two to three such extortion points and business alone from it is worth a billion rupee a year. The administration is not oblivious. It is said that a share of the “tolabazi” goes to various points in the police, local administration even some political parties.

Trinamool leaders say these activities from Bangladesh increased during the Left Front regime. But on its part too, the TMC government seems to do precious little to check it. Since it is considered a sensitive “communal” issue, the administration has been advised to act with “caution”. In reality it means: “Do not act”.

The situation is turning volatile every day as the volume continues to increase. It is not that the contraband flows in from the other side only. From the Indian side too lots are sold to Bangladeshi couriers at borders. They carry sacks of phensydyl cough syrup, drugs, rice in the daylight. The smugglers in the region just walk in and out of India and Bangladesh as if these are not two separate countries.

A large number of people’s livelihood depends on this “illicit” trade. It is possibly the longest bazaar that exists anywhere in the world. Senior officials say large volume of money, men and materials are involved and calling it sheer illegal activity doesn’t stop it. Its ramification on security is also well-known. The solution they say is not in carrying out raids, indiscriminate arrests or seizures.

The problem, officials say, is that neither New Delhi nor Dhaka understands the magnitude of the human problem of a shared legacy, porous borders and continuous interaction. The simple solution is to legalise the border bazaars. It would reduce law and order issues and might help the economy of both countries. Besides, it would end the dominance of the mafia.

This possibly is the bitter truth. A Rs 4-lakh crore a year business cannot be wished away by terming it illegal. Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina need to sit together to create the great bazaar that dots their borders. ---INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)

New Delhi, 2 August 2014