Dhaka [Bangladesh], August 1 (ANI): A group of progressive Bangladeshi NGOs in association with some Indian representatives and local district administration officials organised a candlelight vigil to mark the eighth anniversary of the landmark event of the exchange of enclaves between India and Bangladesh.

Uddipan and North Bengal Museum were among the NGOs present along with district officials from Rangpur and Kurigram at the event that was held on Monday and saw people from all walks of life gathering in the 111 enclaves which are now in Bangladesh.

The Land Boundary Agreement of 2015 resolved a long pending issue of enclaves in adverse possession of India and Bangladesh.

Under the deal, signed in Dhaka in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina, the two countries swapped these tiny enclaves dotted around the border. Their inhabitants have been deprived of public services and living in squalid conditions.

According to the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), “The historic agreement facilitated the transfer of 111 enclaves, adding up to 17,160.63 acres, from India to Bangladesh. Conversely, India received 51 enclaves, adding up to 7,110.02 acres, which were in Bangladesh”.

It added, “The 2015 LBA implements the unresolved issues stemming from the un-demarcated land boundary—approximately 6.1 km long—in three sectors, viz. Daikhata-56 (West Bengal), Muhuri River–Belonia (Tripura) and Lathitila–Dumabari (Assam); exchange of enclaves; and adverse possessions, which were first addressed in the 2011 Protocol ”.

The Land Boundary Agreement’s objective was to improve the lives of the people residing in these enclaves, who had been rendered virtually stateless since 1947.

For decades, they were denied their basic rights to education and health, and other services.