Spare us from land acquisition
Thousands of people from five villages held a rally on the bank of the Brahmaputra river at Char Ishwardia village in Sadar upazila yesterday, demanding removal of their homesteads and farmlands from the acquisition list made by the administration.
The local administration has made a list to acquire 4,366 acres for infrastructure development of Mymensingh division.
The villagers have been protesting the proposed land acquisition since last month, sources said.
Speakers at the rally said there are vast char lands on both sides of Brahmaputra, but the administration targeted the densely populated char areas.
“When there is a serious scarcity of farmlands and the government is trying to save them, the administration has made a list to acquire around 4,366 acres of land, most of which are used for growing different crops round the year,” they also said.
“We asked the administration to implement the first phase covering 1,220 acres. We also asked why the number has been increased from 1,220 acres to 4,366 acres, but they did not give a clear answer,” the speakers said.
They also alleged that vested and influential quarters in connivance with a section of government officials have a plan to grab the land of poor and helpless char people.
“We are ready to assist the government to build a beautiful city, but the khas land should be used on selective basis to avoid losses of the poor village people,” the speakers said.
The proposed area includes vast tracts of farmlands and homesteads in Char Anandipur, Char Gobindapur, Char Ishwardia, Char Bhawanipur, Char Durgapur, Char Jelkhana and Char Laxmir Algi in Sadar upazila.
There are around 20,000 families in the listed areas and most of them are small and marginal farmers and sharecroppers, locals said.
President of Char Ishwardia union unit of Awami League Osman Gani was in the chair.
The villagers recently submitted memorandums to Religious Affairs Minister Principal Motiur Rahman and Mymensingh deputy commissioner in this regard.
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