Villagers unite to fight land grabbers

The inhabitants of an erstwhile Indian enclave in Lalmonirhat never had the courage before to raise their voice against the land grabbers as they had no legal protection and feared attack by the culprits.

But now that they are citizens of Bangladesh, they are united and vocal in their demand for their rights.

Some 50 of the around 700 residents of Banshpacha in Lalmonirhat Sadar Upazila yesterday morning stood on a piece of land which is allegedly occupied by one Mantazur Rahman of Shimulbari in Phulbari Upazila.

Talking to The Daily Star, they claimed that 160 out of total 217 acres of land in the former enclave was under the illegal possession of 15 identified land grabbers. They also demanded that the land is freed.

They said they failed to get any legal support from police or local administration.

Earlier, Banshpacha, an area isolated by the Dharla river, was beyond the reach of law because India could not police it as it was inside Bangladesh. Bangladesh police could not enter it either as it belonged to India.

Meanwhile, Mantazur refuted the allegation. He claimed that the former Indian land was his ancestral property and he himself became its owner 10 years ago.

Joynal Abedin, 48, an inhabitant of the former Indian enclave, said, "We are deprived of our own land as it has been grabbed by outsiders and their musclemen."

"Now that we are Bangladeshis, we will fight to free our land with the support of police and administration," he said.

"We have no land documents. But as we belong to this land, we demand that all the 217 acres of land are properly distributed among the 700 inhabitants here," he said.

Golzar Rahman, 95, another local, said, "Earlier, we didn't protest against the land grabbers fearing attacks on us."

Lalmonirhat Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Shafiqul Islam said all the land disputes would be resolved once they got necessary documents from India.