now part of Bangladesh territory,” said Shafiqul Islam, chief government administrator in northern district of Debiganj.
Islam said the Bangladesh government would now roll out a “fast-track master plan” to develop the enclaves. The plan includes building new roads, schools, power lines and clinics.
India has added more than 15,000 new citizens to its population, while over 36,000 enclave residents took Bangladeshi nationality under the historic agreement.
In West Bengal state’s Mashaldanga enclave, the main site for celebrations on the Indian side, residents have for decades lived as Bangladeshis in the foreign land.
Having opted for Indian citizenship under the deal, they rallied with torches, let off fire crackers and hoisted the Indian flag to celebrate their “freedom”.
“We have waited so long for this moment,” said a jubilant resident, Tapas Das.
Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of West Bengal where most of the enclaves were swapped, hailed the agreement in a tweet.
“Thousands of people will get new identities. Congratulations to them,” Banerjee said on Twitter. Local ruling politician Rabi Ghosh said his government’s priority is to reach out to his new compatriots and to see their children go to schools and sick get treated at hospitals.
“By December we will ensure all villages are connected with roads, electricity and drinking water,” Ghosh told AFP.
The enclaves date back to ownership arrangements made centuries ago between local princes.
The parcels of land survived partition of the subcontinent in 1947 after British rule, and Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence.
Bangladesh endorsed a deal with India in 1974 in a bid to dissolve the pockets, but India only signed a final agreement in June when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Dhaka.
In the final hours before the handover, villagers held special feasts and joined prayers in mosques and Hindu temples to usher in the new era.
Prodeep Kumar Barman sang a devotional song praising Hindu Lord Krishna as he led his troupe near a temple at the main bazaar in Dashiar Chhara, singing: “Oh what a joy, what a joy!”
Plans for more lavish festivities have been scaled back as India is observing a period of national mourning for former president A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, who died this week.
“This is the biggest celebration of my life. I can’t describe how I feel today,” said Parul Khatun, 35, a resident of the Indian enclave of Kot Bajni. Both India and Bangladesh conducted surveys this month asking enclave residents to choose a nation.
The overwhelming majority of people living in Indian enclaves in Bangladesh opted for Bangladeshi citizenship, but nearly 1,000 people on the Bangladesh side opted to keep their Indian nationalities.
They now have to leave their homes by November for India where they will be resettled in the state of West Bengal.
The decision has split some families along generational lines, with ambitious young people moving to India and leaving behind parents who are either afraid to move or just want to stay where they grew up.