The nation will savour a glittering and dazzling spectacle of ‘Retreat Ceremony’at Petrapole in West Bengal on the indian side of the border with Bangladesh modeled on the line of India’s famous crowd pulling retreat ceremony being held with Pakistan Rangers at Attari-Wagah in Amritsar in Punjab,

After October 2 event Bangladesh and India will jointly inaugurate the power transmission line fron India to its its immediate neighbour on October 5.

This October 2 ceremony at Petrapole will see the troops of the Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), conduct the drill in unison and synchronized coordination in full regalia at sunset, lowering the respective National Flags – can rightly be termed as the country's first 'Wagah in the East'.

The ceremony will be thrown open to the public at 1330 hours onwards for three and half hours plus. This will be the first retreat ceremony between the two countries will be held on the lines of what happens between India and Pakistan along Wagah post in Punjab, sans simulated angry looks by border guards and heavy stomping of foot.

Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde is expected to be present with his Bangladeshi counterpart at the Petrapole-Benapole border in West Bengal to inaugurate the ceremony.

'The historic ceremony will be held on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti and I hope people from both the countries will enjoy the showcasing of our cultural legacy,' BSF chief Subhash Joshi said.

The maiden ceremony, which will include ceremonial lowering of flags in the evening, will be conducted by the border guards of the two countries - the Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) dressed in full regalia.

The BSF, on the India side, will create required infrastructure for the people to witness the event and will upgrade the logistics over a period of time. The ceremony, according to sources will include renditions by famous Bengali poet Kazi Nazrul Islam and Nobel laureate Rabindra Nath Tagore. It is expected to be held from Friday to Sunday, however, last minute modalities are yet to be firmed up.

The proposal was first mooted in 2011 and it was pursued by the current officials in both the forces with Joshi giving special focus to the task in getting clearances from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Joshi, who is leading a delegation to Bangaldesh later this week for border talks with BGB, will personally invite Bangladesh Home Minister M K Alamgir for the vent.

The ceremony is also planned to be held at three other places in the east later. They are Changrabandha-Burimari border (Tripura area) and Akhaura and Phulbari-Banglabandha frontiers (West Bengal area) which are part of the 4,096-km Indo-Bangla border.

India and Pakistan have been traditionally hosting the flag-lowering ceremony at the Wagah-Attari border and the event is attended by a large number of people from both the countries as well as foreign nationals. Greetings and gifts are exchanged by officials at this frontier on occasions like Independence Day and festivals like Diwali and Eid.

BSF Director General Subhash Joshi and Maj.BGB Director General Gen. Aziz Ahmed Khan will also be present besides several dignitaries of both the countries.