8 sued, others on list for Patuakhali river grabbing
Illegal occupiers have erected walls to demarcate their 'plots' for shops on the bank of Shibbaria River near Kuakata in Patuakhali district. Photo: STAR
Eight people have been sued for constructing structures, encroaching upon the Shibbaria River in Kalapara upazila of the district. Upazila AC (Land) office filed eviction cases against the eight with the revenue court on May 18. The accused are Abdul Jabbar Howlader, Sohag Mridha, Sayed Howlader, Abul Kalam, Raja Mia, Abul Kashem, Mujibur Rahman and Subhas Chandra. They all are fish traders of Mohipur area. Assistant Commissioner (AC-Land) Abdul Awal said they served notices on the grabbers on May 2 to remove structures by May 9, but they did not remove those within the deadline. “Initially, we have filed cases against the eight. We will sue the other grabbers in phases,” the AC land said. He said he has already sent a letter to the deputy commissioners, seeking lawful steps to demolish the illegal structures from both sides of the river. Shahajada Mia, surveyor of Kalapara upazila land office, told this correspondent that they leased 23 plots, each 16 feet in length and 14 feet in wide, to 23 fish traders and freedom fighter to build temporary structures on the riverside for a year. Before handing over the plots to the lessees, they have started constructing concrete structures, violating the terms and conditions of DCR (duplicate carbon receipt) and at least 100 such structures have already been constructed, occupying 30 to 40 feet inside the river in Mohipur and Alipur areas, he added. Siddik Mollah, president of Mohipur Fish Traders Association', said local administration demolished all illegal structures on both sides of the Shibbaria River in 2007. Later, land office gave DCRs to local fish traders to build temporary structures to do their business. Two fish market--Mohipur and Alipur--are situated on both sides of the Shibbaria River. The markets are famous for hilsa trading as fishing trawlers get easy access to the markets through both estuaries of the river from the Bay after fishing. The river is also a safe place for the fishermen as they can easily enter the river during cyclone and any other disasters to save themselves and their trawlers. “We have already taken up a project involving Tk 65 crore to set up a harbour here, said Abdul Wadud, deputy divisional engineer of Water Development Board for Kalapara circle.
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