BSF, BGB resume joint Retreat ceremony at Petrapole

The joint retreat ceremony of Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) at International Border Check Post Petrapole, North 24 Parganas in West Bengal under the South Bengal Frontier of BSF was resumed on January 1, the BSF said on Sunday.

This daily event was suspended due to Covid-19 protocol and restrictions on the border in 2020.

Started in 2013, on the eastern border with Bangladesh, the Joint Retreat Ceremony will now be held twice a week -- Tuesday and Saturday regularly in the evening hours, the BSF officials said.

This ceremony is similar to the one which is held at Wagah border along the India-Pakistan border in Punjab but this event is held in a cordial atmosphere from both sides at the zero line after which the BSF and BGB lower their national flags in the evening.

The retreat ceremony began on November 6, 2013 with a full cultural programme, which included singing of songs by Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam. The joint retreat ceremony also pays tribute to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who played a key role in the liberation of Bangladesh.

According to BSF, this ceremony is a big attraction for the people of both the countries wherein many people especially visit Petrapole on Indian side and Benapole on the Bangladesh side to witness the ceremony.