Braving insistent rain, thousands of ‘char’ (river island) people brought out a huge procession from Joy Bangla Bazar in Mymensingh sadar upazila on Friday afternoon in protest against the “motivated” land acquisition for works undertaken by the Mymensingh division.The procession, organised by the ‘Basatbhita Rokhha Committee’, went through Char Gobindapur, Char Anandipur, Char Bhawanipur, Char Durgapur and Konapara in the Char Sirta union. They carried black flags as a mark of protest against the acquisition move by the administration.The char people have been opposing the land acquisition move for over eight months now.
The administration first prepared a list of 1,220 acres of land for development work in the division but revised the list to increase the amount of land to be taken over to 4,366, the protesters said.
The proposed acquisition area of 4,366acre includes vast tracts of farmland and homestead, owned by small and marginal farmers, and sharecroppers, they said.
The acquisition of 4,366 acres as per the fresh list would amount to a “gross violation of human rights”, the char people said.
At a rally held before the procession set off, the protesters alleged the new list was a “blue print” to serve the interest of influential quarters and vowed to protect their homesteads and farmlands at any cost.
Repeating their demand for a fair list, they said the new list released by the administration a few months ago was “unfair” and “motivated” and meant to evict hundreds of families from seven villages.
Demanding for a balanced development plan involving four unions situated along the Old Brahmaputra River, they said the administration could acquire large tracts of khas (government-owned) and fallow land on both sides of the river that were lying vacant.
“We want to be a partner of the new town but not to be evicted,” they said, adding, “If we are evicted, we will launch tougher movement to spoil administration’s evil design.”
Char people sources said, there were some 60,000 people, 17,000 families, and 28,000 households, 475 family graveyard, six public graveyards, 30 government and non-government primary schools, three high schools, 47 mosques, four temples, six Eidgah grounds and other establishments on the land proposed to be acquired as per the new list.
Committee convener Prof Syed Mosharraf Hossain, Kazi Rafiqul Islam, Shahidul Islam, Abul Monsur, Mohammad Shahjahan, Dr Harun-or-Rashid, Nadim Mustafa, Golam Kibria joined the rally, among others.