'Chhitmahal' tag for 51 enclaves in SIR forms

AMID rumblings in former Bangladeshi enclaves in West Bengal, the Election Commission (EC) has decided to distribute enumeration forms marked with ‘Chhitmahal’ or ‘Enclaves’ status to thousands of enclave dwellers in Cooch Behar district during the ongoing SIR.

- SUBHENDU MAITI @Kolkata

“Our names figured in the 2015 voter list when 51 Bangladeshi enclaves became Indian villages under the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) signed between India and Bangladesh the same year. We became the Indian citizens and close to 16,000 residents were recorded in the 51 enclaves during the LBA,” said Saddam Hossain, a resident of Puatur Kuthi enclave in Cooch Behar.

“How can we provide details of our Indian documents like Aadhaar or our parents’ names from the voter list of the last SIR in 2002? None of us had such records since we were Bangladeshis at that time,” he added.