More than 2,000 illegal structures have been built on 3,600 acres of land owned by the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) in nine upazilas of Bagerhat.
In the heart of Chitalmari upazila, multi-storey buildings, shops, business establishments and wooden houses stand on BWDB land on both sides of the road in Kurmoni mouza. Influential locals have long occupied land on both sides of BWDB’s 36/1 polder and constructed these buildings illegally. Although lists have been made and letters issued on several occasions to remove these illegal structures, the authority concerned has failed to take any visible action. BWDB sent letters to the owners of 172 illegal structures on 27 October, asking them to remove their buildings.
It has been learnt that influential individuals have set up buildings on both sides of the BWDB embankment near the Chitalmari upazila headquarters. Among them are a three-storey building belonging to Chitalmari Upazila Awami League president Babul Khan, a two-storey building and market owned by Master Deen Mohammad, which houses signboards of the Chitalmari Upazila BNP office and Shaheed Zia Smriti Sangsad. There are also a three-storey building owned by Islami Andolan leader Jahangir Alam Munshi, a single-storey building owned by district BNP leader Manzur Morshed Swapon, and a two-storey building belonging to Dr Kazi Mofidul Islam Babul, along with many other permanent and makeshift structures on both sides of the road.
SM Mahbub Morshed Lalon, public prosecutor at the Bagerhat District and Sessions Judge’s Court, said that not only in Chitalmari but across the entire district, a group of unscrupulous people has been constructing illegal structures on government land. As a result, the government is losing revenue as public land is being grabbed by influential people. He also called upon the authorities to take immediate steps to evict the land grabbers as per existing laws.
Abdul Gaffar, a local resident, said an embankment was built near Chitalmari’s main market a long time ago. There was an open space and water on both sides of the road. “Influential people have filled it with sand and constructed these buildings. During the rule of any government, they have built these structures,” he said.
Several individuals, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the BWDB is fully aware of these buildings and structures. “It takes at least a year to construct a three-storey building. Why did they not stop construction then? Now they have sent letters, but you will see the encroachers remain just as they are,” one of them commented.
Chitalmari Upazila BNP president Muminul Haque Tulu Biswas said that no one from his party is involved in the land grabbing. No matter how powerful they may be, encroachers must be evicted and the government land used for the welfare of the general public, he added.
Upazila Awami League president Babul Hossain Khan could not be reached for his comment as he is now in prison.
Islami Andolan leader Jahangir Alam Munshi said the land on which his building stands is ancestral property. He said he constructed the building after receiving design approval from the upazila parishad, adding that many others are also listed in the approval records.
Meanwhile, extremely poor people living along both sides of the embankment say they built their houses there because they have no land elsewhere, and they do not know where they will go if they are evicted.
Some encroachers, requesting anonymity, said they did not construct buildings on government land without the consent of government officials, adding that they built the buildings after paying money to officials, including BWDB revenue surveyor Md Naimul Haque.
Brushing aside the allegation, Naimul Haque said he had recently taken charge. He claimed that those who received eviction notices were now spreading propaganda. Earlier, Bagerhat BWDB’s assistant revenue officer Samir Biswas was dismissed from his job on charges of taking unethical benefits from encroachers and embezzling money from them on the promise of jobs, according to BWDB sources.
Md Abdullah Al Mamun, executive engineer of BWDB in Bagerhat, said strict monitoring is now in place to ensure no one encroaches on the land afresh. After the issuance of notices, certain procedures must be followed, he said, adding that once these procedures are complete, an eviction drive will begin. “If any official or employee is found guilty, we will take action against them as per the law.”
