Evicted, Santals refuse govt relief

The Gaibandha district administration yesterday went to Santal families in Gobindhaganj upzila to distribute relief materials, but they rejected it, saying that they only wanted their lands back. After being evicted from their land, these ethnic families are not going outside for work and their children are not going to school. They are passing their days under open sky and in suffering from food scarcity. Their only demand is to get back their ancestral lands. Gobindaganj upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) Abdul Hannan told The Independent that they went to the Santal families with aid materials like rice, lentils, oil, potatoes and salt at 9am and waited till 5pm, but to no avail.
“We went to distribute some relief materials for 150 santal families in Motherpur and Joypur villages but they did not accept those things. They only said they wanted to get back their lands,” he said. “We wanted to provide the materials out of humanitarian grounds. But they said they did not have any scarcity of food. They wanted their lands back,” he added. The UNO said they would again try to provide relief materials after discussion with the district administration.The Santal families said they would not receive aid materials if their condition was not fulfilled.  Sapmara union parishad (UP) member Abdur Rouf said, “We went to the union and talked to the headman of the Santal families, Barnabas Tudu, about the distribution of aid. But Tudu told the UNO us that he would talk about distribution with other people. But later, he did not come back. So we could not distribute the materials.” The UP member also said that the Santals demanded  rehabilitation on their evicted lands, immediate removal of the barbed wire around the lands, and stopping of cultivation of sugarcanes.
He said they demanded withdrawal of cases filed against them, adding that the Santals demanded trial of the local MP, Abul Kalam Azad, and UP chairman Shakil Ahmed Bulbul, as they alleged, for abetting in their eviction, arson and looting. Pawlus Master of the Santal village said, “We have been evicted through conspiracy. Even these relief materials might be part of a plot against us.” “We have placed our demands to the delegation team of the ruling party. We would not accept any relief materials until our demands are met,” he added.
The district administration allocated 20kg rice, one kg of lentil, one litre of soybean oil, one kg of salt, one kg of potato and two blankets for the affected families. Gaibandha deputy commissioner Abdus Samad told The Independent that they would again try to distribute the relief materials to the Santal families. “We would try to distribute relief materials among the affected families. It has become a question of confidence,” he said. He also said that they allocated some 10 acres of khash lands in katabaria area, only a little away from Sapmara union, for the affected families.
Meanwhile, Industries Secretary Md Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan yesterday said the law enforcers were not responsible for the killing and injuries in the clash between santals and sugar mill workers over land dispute. He alleged that a ‘vested quarters’ was involved with the attack on ethnic minority people.
The secretary said this while addressing a press briefing at the Ministry of Industries in the capital. “The law enforces and RAB have fired blank shots and lobbed tear shells. There is no possibility of casualties in the firing,” he said. He said, “Some say that the two santal men died naturally while others said they were injured previously. The reason behind their death would be cleared after getting the post mortem reports.”
He said that the situation deteriorate when the santals equipped with arrows and bows attacked the police personnel. “The matter becomes sensitive when police come under attack. Then an operation was conducted under the directive of executive magistrate and RAB was also involved,” he said. Bhuiyan said, “We have salvaged the illegal occupation of the lands through local administration. The casualties that we anticipated did not occur at that scale. It’s a good side.” “While reading newspaper reports it seems that the Santals have been evicted but while reading the whole news it is clear that they were illegally living there and they have been removed,” he added.

Evicted, Santals refuse govt relief

The Gaibandha district administration yesterday went to Santal families in Gobindhaganj upzila to distribute relief materials, but they rejected it, saying that they only wanted their lands back. After being evicted from their land, these ethnic families are not going outside for work and their children are not going to school. They are passing their days under open sky and in suffering from food scarcity. Their only demand is to get back their ancestral lands. Gobindaganj upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) Abdul Hannan told The Independent that they went to the Santal families with aid materials like rice, lentils, oil, potatoes and salt at 9am and waited till 5pm, but to no avail. We went to distribute some relief materials for 150 santal families in Motherpur and Joypur villages but they did not accept those things. They only said they wanted to get back their lands, he said. We wanted to provide the materials out of humanitarian grounds. But they said they did not have any scarcity of food. They wanted their lands back, he added. The UNO said they would again try to provide relief materials after discussion with the district administration.The Santal families said they would not receive aid materials if their condition was not fulfilled. Sapmara union parishad (UP) member Abdur Rouf said, We went to the union and talked to the headman of the Santal families, Barnabas Tudu, about the distribution of aid. But Tudu told the UNO us that he would talk about distribution with other people. But later, he did not come back. So we could not distribute the materials. The UP member also said that the Santals demanded rehabilitation on their evicted lands, immediate removal of the barbed wire around the lands, and stopping of cultivation of sugarcanes. He said they demanded withdrawal of cases filed against them, adding that the Santals demanded trial of the local MP, Abul Kalam Azad, and UP chairman Shakil Ahmed Bulbul, as they alleged, for abetting in their eviction, arson and looting. Pawlus Master of the Santal village said, We have been evicted through conspiracy. Even these relief materials might be part of a plot against us. We have placed our demands to the delegation team of the ruling party. We would not accept any relief materials until our demands are met, he added. The district administration allocated 20kg rice, one kg of lentil, one litre of soybean oil, one kg of salt, one kg of potato and two blankets for the affected families. Gaibandha deputy commissioner Abdus Samad told The Independent that they would again try to distribute the relief materials to the Santal families. We would try to distribute relief materials among the affected families. It has become a question of confidence, he said. He also said that they allocated some 10 acres of khash lands in katabaria area, only a little away from Sapmara union, for the affected families. Meanwhile, Industries Secretary Md Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan yesterday said the law enforcers were not responsible for the killing and injuries in the clash between santals and sugar mill workers over land dispute. He alleged that a vested quarters was involved with the attack on ethnic minority people. The secretary said this while addressing a press briefing at the Ministry of Industries in the capital. The law enforces and RAB have fired blank shots and lobbed tear shells. There is no possibility of casualties in the firing, he said. He said, Some say that the two santal men died naturally while others said they were injured previously. The reason behind their death would be cleared after getting the post mortem reports. He said that the situation deteriorate when the santals equipped with arrows and bows attacked the police personnel. The matter becomes sensitive when police come under attack. Then an operation was conducted under the directive of executive magistrate and RAB was also involved, he said. Bhuiyan said, We have salvaged the illegal occupation of the lands through local administration. The casualties that we anticipated did not occur at that scale. Its a good side. While reading newspaper reports it seems that the Santals have been evicted but while reading the whole news it is clear that they were illegally living there and they have been removed, he added.