Follow-up
Poor Patuakhali FFs finally to get agri land allotment
Six of 13 allottees die in last 11 yrs
The district administration has taken initiative to allocate agricultural land to 13 insolvent freedom fighters, who along with six others (now deceased) earlier got virtually useless allotment papers of khas land at Char Samad in Dashmina upazila under the district 11 years ago.
The earlier allotment remained a farce to the 19 freedom fighters as the land is still under water. Six of the allottees died by this time.
Dashmina upazila land office has sent a list of 13 freedom fighters for approval to the deputy commissioner's (DC) office for fresh allocations of khas land.
The Daily Star on March 19 in 2010 ran a report titled 'land allotment a mockery for 19 freedom fighters', stating that Patuakhali district administration issued allotment of 28.5 acres of land to 19 poor and distressed freedom fighters at Char Samad adjacent to Char Shahjalal in Dasmina upazila in 2000-2001 fiscal year.
But the allotment papers given to the 19 people remained practically useless as the land was under water.
Following publication of the report, the district administration asked upazila land officials to take step to allocate fresh khas land to the freedom fighters. Accordingly, the upazila administration selected 19.5 acres of khas land for allocation to the freedom fighters.
The new list included names of 13 freedom fighters as six others, namely, Dr Mojibur Rahman, Tazul Islam, Kamola Rani Das, Md Moslem Raree, Abdul Bareq Sarder and Abdul Mannan have died during the last 11 years, said Nazir Ahmed, commander of Dashmina upazila unit of Muktijoddha Sangsad.
"We approved the list of 13 freedom fighters in a meeting of upazila agri khas land management and allocation committee on November 28 last year. Each of them will get 1.5 acres of khas land at Char Bashbaria mouja under the upazila," said Ajmol Hossain, Dashmina upazila nirbahi officer.
"Earlier they (freedom fighters) had got name only allotment papers. I was not here when the allotment was made," he said.
Md Shahjahan Sarder, additional deputy commissioner (Revenue) of Patuakhali, said, "We got the list [of 13 freedom fighters] from Dashmina upazila administration and we are examining it. We will approve the list as soon as possible."
The earlier allotment was wrong as the land is under water, he added.
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