Barapukuria Coalmine
Land subsidence victims to start fresh agitation
Villagers affected by land subsidence around Barapukuria coalmine will again go for fresh agitation from tomorrow (April 19) to realise their demands including compensation and rehabilitation.
They alleged that the authorities of Barapukuria Coalmine Company Limited (BCMCL) are yet to start implementing the pledges they made before the affected people during their fast unto death programme on March 12.
The affected villagers withdrew their fast unto death programme on the day following the assurance given by the BCMCL authorities of meeting the demands in phases from April 1.
Protesting delay in implementing the pledges, Jibon O Shampad Rakkha Committee, an association of the affected people of 15 villages, informed the director of BCMCL of their fresh agitation programme through a memorandum on Monday last.
Md Ibrahim Khalil and Md Belal Uddin, convenor and general secretary of the committee, handed over a copy of the memorandum to Engineer Md Quamruzzaman, managing director of the BCMCL.
The also sat with the BCMCL officials on their demands on April 8, but the meeting yielded no positive results, sources in the committee said.
However, BCMCL sources said a meeting will be held at Petrobangla office in the capital today to discuss the issues.
BCMCL officials said a land survey is needed to start giving compensation to the affected villagers, but they (villagers) last week stopped land survey launched by deputy commissioner office.
The people of 15 villages affected by land subsidence around Barapukuria coalmine have been agitating since January this year demanding compensation and their rehabilitation.
BCMCL authorities officially confirmed that about 201.07 acres of arable land around the coalmine area subsided by two to three feet due to underground geological fault since May 2006, causing water logging in the area.
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