Illegal Dam on Water Body in Rangpur
One killed, 50 hurt as villagers clash with fish farm goons
At least 50 people were injured, including seven by bullets, in clashes between villagers and hired goons of a private fish farm at Chatra beel (water body) under Mithapukur and Pirganj upazilas yesterday.
The clash ensued over illegal construction of a dam on the water body by a private fish farm, villagers claimed.
The farm grabbed around 70 acres of the water body for fish cultivation, they said.
Upon receipt of complaints from the locals of Chatra and its adjoining villages, land administration recently conducted an enquiry and found that the water body belongs to the government.
The enquiry also found that the fish farm illegally constructed the dam across the beel for fish cultivation.
The land department and district administration asked the farm to remove the dam and stop fish cultivation. The management of the farm did not pay heed to the notices of the authorities concerned, police sources said.
On Sunday, about 500 villagers removed the dam from the water body. But, the farm authority again started construction work of the dam yesterday afternoon, police said.
When the locals put up resistance against the construction of the dam, a series of clashes took place between villagers and hired goons of the fish farm that left at least 50 villagers injured. At one stage, the miscreants opened fire leaving seven people bullet-hit.
The bullet-hit people were admitted to Rangpur Medical College Hospital and Pirganj and Mithapukur Upazila Heath Complexes.
Locals alleged the proprietor of the farm grabbed the water body in 2004 for fish cultivation despite protests from locals.
Moinul Hoque, a villager of Chatra, said local administration backed the illegal grabbing during that period.
Contacted, Deputy Commissioner ABM Enamul and Police Superintendent Saleh Mohammad Tanvir said they would visit the spot.
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