05-13-2005, 09:54 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>People chase Bâdeshis from Assam</b>
IANS/ Guwahati
Hundreds of suspected Bangladeshi migrant workers fled an Assamese city following threats, from an unidentified group, asking locals not to employ "illegal foreigners". "Maybe a few hundred suspected Bangladeshi nationals, working in brick kilns and doing menial jobs, have fled Dibrugarh town, during the last few days<b>," Assam Inspector General of Police Khagen Sharma told IANS."We are not sure where they have gone," </b>he added.
For the past fortnight, an unidentified group in Dibrugarh district, 490 km from Guwahati, has been circulating leaflets and sending messages on mobile telephones warning "all illegal Bangladeshi nationals" to leave Assam or face action. <b>"Let's take an oath... no job, no food, no shelter to any Bangladeshi. Start a complete economic blockade against the illegal immigrants,"</b> read a leaflet, doing the rounds in Dibrugarh.
Police in Dibrugarh said many brick kilns in the district have since closed down, and there is a crisis for commuters in the city, because cycle rickshaws have gone off the roads, due to manpower shortage. "Many of those who fled were working in brick kilns or pulling rickshaws," Dibrugarh district police chief P.C. Saloi said over the phone. "We have heard about messages asking Bangladeshis to leave. This is a social action and we do not like to comment on this," Home Secretary V.K. Duggal told journalists in Guwahati. "We are continuing to erect quality barbed fencings along the border, to prevent illegal infiltration, and at the same time using legal and judicial measures to deport Bangladeshi settlers from here<b>." Assam shares a 272 km border with Bangladesh, a vast stretch remains unfenced.</b>
India often claims that large-scale infiltration from across the border was threatening the region's demographic profile. Workers who cross into Assam from Bangladesh are employed in road and construction companies because they provide cheap labour. There are no official estimates as to the actual number of Bangladeshi migrants residing in Assam although Governor Ajai Singh has reportedly said that up to <b>6,000 illegal infiltrators enter the state daily </b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
IANS/ Guwahati
Hundreds of suspected Bangladeshi migrant workers fled an Assamese city following threats, from an unidentified group, asking locals not to employ "illegal foreigners". "Maybe a few hundred suspected Bangladeshi nationals, working in brick kilns and doing menial jobs, have fled Dibrugarh town, during the last few days<b>," Assam Inspector General of Police Khagen Sharma told IANS."We are not sure where they have gone," </b>he added.
For the past fortnight, an unidentified group in Dibrugarh district, 490 km from Guwahati, has been circulating leaflets and sending messages on mobile telephones warning "all illegal Bangladeshi nationals" to leave Assam or face action. <b>"Let's take an oath... no job, no food, no shelter to any Bangladeshi. Start a complete economic blockade against the illegal immigrants,"</b> read a leaflet, doing the rounds in Dibrugarh.
Police in Dibrugarh said many brick kilns in the district have since closed down, and there is a crisis for commuters in the city, because cycle rickshaws have gone off the roads, due to manpower shortage. "Many of those who fled were working in brick kilns or pulling rickshaws," Dibrugarh district police chief P.C. Saloi said over the phone. "We have heard about messages asking Bangladeshis to leave. This is a social action and we do not like to comment on this," Home Secretary V.K. Duggal told journalists in Guwahati. "We are continuing to erect quality barbed fencings along the border, to prevent illegal infiltration, and at the same time using legal and judicial measures to deport Bangladeshi settlers from here<b>." Assam shares a 272 km border with Bangladesh, a vast stretch remains unfenced.</b>
India often claims that large-scale infiltration from across the border was threatening the region's demographic profile. Workers who cross into Assam from Bangladesh are employed in road and construction companies because they provide cheap labour. There are no official estimates as to the actual number of Bangladeshi migrants residing in Assam although Governor Ajai Singh has reportedly said that up to <b>6,000 illegal infiltrators enter the state daily </b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->