West Bengal polls: North 24 Parganas' border with Bangladesh sealed till Wednesday

The international border between Bangladesh and the North
24 Parganas district of West Bengal has been suspended for three days, starting
yesterday evening (26 April), as part of heightened security measures for the
second phase of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections.
According to an order issued by
North 24 Parganas District Magistrate and District Election Officer Shilpa
Gourisaria, the movement of people and vehicles through the land border will be
restricted from 6pm on April 26 until the conclusion of polling on Wednesday
evening (29 April).
The decision to seal the border
aims to ensure the smooth conduct of elections in 33 assembly constituencies
within the district, where voting is scheduled to take place on April 29 from
7am to 5:30pm.
Consequently, import-export activities and general
passenger movement through the Benapole-Petrapole land port will remain halted
during this period.
The Indian authorities have
identified three specific categories for exemption from these restrictions.
Special permission will be granted
for emergency medical cases travelling from Bangladesh to India; voters of West
Bengal who are travelling to their respective districts to cast their ballots
on 29 April; and vehicles carrying perishable goods.
To ensure the order is strictly enforced, the Indian
district magistrate has directed the local superintendents of police for
Basirhat and Bongaon, along with the police commissioners of Barrackpore and
Bidhannagar, to implement the restrictions.
Border Security Force (BSF) battalion commanders and local administration
officials at the sub-divisional and block levels have also been tasked with
maintaining the seal until the election process is finalised.















