Pakistani Refugees Bring Deep Pressure on W. Bengal Gov’t
NEW DELHI- The pressure of evacuees from East Bengal has brought the administration of the Indian border state of West Bengal almost to breaking point, the state’s Deputy Chief Minister Bejoy Singh Nahar said in Calcutta Tuesday.
The adminttration had come to standstill as it was busy attending to the unending influx of refugees, he said.
The evacuees were entering India also at anoher point in the Mizo Hill district in Assam where so far 15,000 had crossed over.
Some of them had strekked 200 kilometres through forests to the nearest administrative centre for relief.
Food and medicines were being rushed to them and shelters built.
The airlift of refugees from the camps to interior areas continued although it was stated that Mana Camp in Madhya Pradesh where 50,000 refugees had so far been sent, had reached saturation point.
Indian Air Force transport aircraft had joined the airlift and Tuesday they ferried relief materials from Calcutta to several points in Assam.
Meanwhile another West German Air Force Boeing 707, the third, touched down in Calcutta with relief supplies including about three million multivitamin tablets, 2,000 kilograms of baby food 500 kilograms of antibiotics and 2,000 litres of vitamin tonic for children.
Drastic steps urged
Members of the ruling Congress parliamentary party Tuesday urged Premier Indira Gandhi to take “drastic steps’ to bring about a solution of the Bangla Desh problem.
Some of them even talked of waging war in order to occupy East Bengal teritory to resettle the six million refugees who have already crossed in to India.
The Finance Minister of Assam state, Kamlapati Tripathi, said Tuesday China had offered assistance of 500 million rupees to Pakistan on condition that Chinese soldiers will be sationed in East Bengal in the guise of technicians.
According to him the West Pakistanis were reconciled to handling over East Bengal to China rather than allow it to become a pro-Indian state.
The Pakistani authorities had decided to change the structure of East Pakistan’s population by pushing out ten million Bengalis and thus reduce its populaton superiority over that of West Pakistan.
The vacuum was designed to be filled within the next decade by West Pakistan soidiers and civilians marrying young girls who were not allowed to cross over to India in the same manner as China had done in Tibet. -DPA
Reference : The Djakarta Times, 25.06.1971