Locals want Thengar Char under Ctg

Local people are unhappy about the confusion among ministers and government officials regarding the district in which Thengar Char, the island on which the government plans to accommodate the Rohingya refugees temporarily, is located.

Thengar Char is located in Sandwip upazila in Chittagong district. However, some government officials and ministers said Thengar Char is in Noakhali.

“The newly emerged island Thengar Char or Vasan Char in the Meghna was put under Nayamosti Union Parishad in Chittagong’s Sandwip upazila. The Meghna gobbled up Nayamosti union between 1953 and 1991,” said a speaker at a meeting arranged under the banner of the Newly Emerged Land Protection Parishad in North Saikaive in Sandwip on Thursday.

Around 5,000 people gathered near Thengar Char with their demand that the ‘char’ (island) belongs to Sandwip.

Protesting against remarks by some top government officials that the ‘char’ belongs to Noakhali district, Mizanur Rahman, convener of the Parishad, said, “The British and Pakistan had settled that Thengar Char or Vasan Char would be part of Nayamosti union of Sandwip. Once, there used to be 61 mouzas in Sandwip. Of them, the Meghna and the Bay of Bengal devoured 19. Now, it has only 38 mouzas.”

“We don’t have any problem with the Rohingyas shifting here. But our demand from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is that the government should acknowledge that the ‘char’ belongs to Sandwip,” he added. Thengar Char is just a 10 minutes’ journey by boat from North Sarikaive of Sandwip.

A Azizullah, 75, a local resident, told The Independent, “We used to live in Nayamosti. About 60 years ago, we shifted to Sarikaive when the Meghna devoured our home. We have inherited land in Thengar Char. It is under Sandwip, not Noakhali.”

Mozzamel Haque, 60, agreed, “We used to live in Amirabad of Nayamosti, which is now called Thengar Char. After the Meghna devoured our home, we shifted to Sarikaive. It is under Sandwip.”

The Chittagong district administration report, too, says that Thengar Char is under Sandwip upazila. Chittagong deputy commissioner Shamsul Arefin sent a report to the ministry concerned on March 22, 2017, mentioning that Thengar Char is in Sandwip upazila. The Independent has a copy of the report.

The former UNO of Sandwip upazila, Golam Zakaria, told The Independent that Thengar Char is under Sandwip, not Noakhali. He has also submitted a report on this to the Chittagong district administration along with the documents.

 

Locals want Thengar Char under Ctg

Local people are unhappy about the confusion among ministers and government officials regarding the district in which Thengar Char, the island on which the government plans to accommodate the Rohingya refugees temporarily, is located. Thengar Char is located in Sandwip upazila in Chittagong district. However, some government officials and ministers said Thengar Char is in Noakhali. The newly emerged island Thengar Char or Vasan Char in the Meghna was put under Nayamosti Union Parishad in Chittagongs Sandwip upazila. The Meghna gobbled up Nayamosti union between 1953 and 1991, said a speaker at a meeting arranged under the banner of the Newly Emerged Land Protection Parishad in North Saikaive in Sandwip on Thursday. Around 5,000 people gathered near Thengar Char with their demand that the char (island) belongs to Sandwip. Protesting against remarks by some top government officials that the char belongs to Noakhali district, Mizanur Rahman, convener of the Parishad, said, The British and Pakistan had settled that Thengar Char or Vasan Char would be part of Nayamosti union of Sandwip. Once, there used to be 61 mouzas in Sandwip. Of them, the Meghna and the Bay of Bengal devoured 19. Now, it has only 38 mouzas. We dont have any problem with the Rohingyas shifting here. But our demand from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is that the government should acknowledge that the char belongs to Sandwip, he added. Thengar Char is just a 10 minutes journey by boat from North Sarikaive of Sandwip. A Azizullah, 75, a local resident, told The Independent, We used to live in Nayamosti. About 60 years ago, we shifted to Sarikaive when the Meghna devoured our home. We have inherited land in Thengar Char. It is under Sandwip, not Noakhali. Mozzamel Haque, 60, agreed, We used to live in Amirabad of Nayamosti, which is now called Thengar Char. After the Meghna devoured our home, we shifted to Sarikaive. It is under Sandwip. The Chittagong district administration report, too, says that Thengar Char is under Sandwip upazila. Chittagong deputy commissioner Shamsul Arefin sent a report to the ministry concerned on March 22, 2017, mentioning that Thengar Char is in Sandwip upazila. The Independent has a copy of the report. The former UNO of Sandwip upazila, Golam Zakaria, told The Independent that Thengar Char is under Sandwip, not Noakhali. He has also submitted a report on this to the Chittagong district administration along with the documents.