India-Bangladesh joint retreat ceremony launched (in pics)

Petrapole, Nov 7: It was a Wagah-like moment at Petrapole on Wednesday as India and Bangladesh launched a joint retreat ceremony at the border outpost.

The ceremony - including parades, march-past and lowering of the national flag of both the countries - will henceforth be a daily routine, at sundown, on the eastern border. Renditions of Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam were part of the ceremony.

Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and his Bangladesh counterpart Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir inaugurated the ceremony on the eastern border, aimed at improving ties between the neighbours.

However, officials informed that symbolic to a more cordial and fast improving Indo-Bangla relationship, the Retreat at Petrapole-Benapole border will not have the aggressiveness of the exercise on the Attari-Wagah border on the West.

Bangladesh is India's largest trade partner in the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) region, comprising India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.

In Petrapole

BSF soldiers folding national flag after inauguration of Retreat ceremony at Petrapoe -Benapole Border of India & Bangladesh on Wednesday.

Petrapole -Benapole Border

Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde inaugurates Retreat ceremony at Petrapole -Benapole Border of India & Bangladesh on Wednesday.

In Petrapole

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, (R) shares a lighter moment with his Bangladeshi counterpart Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir after the inauguration of the India-Bangladesh joint retreat ceremony in Petrapole, about 100 kilometers (63 miles) east of Kolkata, India, on Wednesday.

In Petrapole

A routine police checking at Petrapole border.

Oneindia News

(WIth agency inputs)