Indian truckers stranded at Indo-Bangladesh border, living on puffed rice

Bangladesh crisis: As many as 500 Indian truck drivers are stuck at the border, as the turmoil led to the shutting down of customs offices in Bangladesh and a shortage of unloaders

Due to the current political tension in Bangladesh after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's exit and the establishment of a new interim government, around 500 Indian truck drivers are stuck at the border. The crisis has worsened due to the shutdown of customs offices in Bangladesh, coupled with a shortage of unloaders and transporters.

A Hindustan Times report quoted an Indian customs official as saying that the trucks, filled with goods, have been halted because of a lack of facilities and staff to manage the cargo. As customs officials have fled for their safety, crossing the border has become almost impossible.

By Wednesday evening, the first 40 trucks successfully made their way back to Petrapole, according to the report.

For eight days, 26-year-old truck driver Bipol Haldar lived in constant fear amid the violent upheaval in Bangladesh, as mentioned in the report. Haldar had crossed from West Bengal to Bangladesh in late July with a shipment of goods but found himself stranded in Benapole, just metres from the Petrapole border, when chaos erupted in early August. Haldar and other Indian truck drivers took refuge in their trucks, parked in a lot, surviving on puffed rice while shops were closed and violence spread.

Driver Jeet Biswas recounted that the situation worsened significantly over the weekend, with food supplies dwindling and violent mobs forcing drivers to seek safety in their vehicles, the report stated.

Upon the trucks' return to India on Wednesday, Border Security Force (BSF) personnel conducted thorough inspections for smuggled goods and potential security threats, the report said.

The report quoted a BSF official as saying that their primary concern is the possibility of escaped prisoners from Bangladeshi jails attempting to enter India with looted weapons, leading to heightened alertness along the border.

Bangladesh is set to form a new interim government under Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus on Thursday, following weeks of intense student protests that led to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's resignation and departure from the country. She landed at the Hindon Air Base on Monday and has since been kept in a safe house under tight security.