Land grabbers eye road to cremation ground
The reconstruction of this road leading to the cremation ground under Gaibandha municipality got stalled shortly after its start a few days ago as an influential quarter, claiming ownership of the land, put barricade on it. Photo: STAR
Land grabbers belonging to influential quarters have forced the contractor to stop work for reconstruction of the only road leading to the cremation ground under Gaibandha municipality, much to the grievance of the local Hindu community. Carrying bodies for cremation there takes a lot of trouble as the road is on the verge of extinction due to frequent erosion by Ghagot River during the last few years. The situation worsens during the rainy season. Responding to the long time demand of the local people, Water Development Board last year undertook a programme to protect the road and the riverbank from erosion. A fund of Tk 2 crore 75 thousand was allocated for implementation of the project for the work including earth filling, setting concrete blocks and construction of road along the riverbank. The contractor of the work started earth filling for the purpose last week but some influential people, who claimed the land to be their own, created barricade across the road with tree branches, forcing the contractor to suspend the work for an uncertain period. Local Hindus have urged the authorities to immediately restore the road construction work so that it can be completed before the rainy season. The road is very important for them as there is no alternative way to enter the cremation ground, they said. Gaibandha Mayor Shamsul Alam said they have taken the matter seriously and will take steps for quick solution to the problem.
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