Wetland leased from WDB being filled up to set up market, park
The contractor engaged by Bera municipality authorities has continued dredging to fill up this low land at Brishalikha on the Hurasagar River as the authorities initiated a development work there, harming agriculture and ignoring the environmental issues. Inset, the signboard marks the spot of a proposed children's park in the area. Photo: STAR
Ignoring objection from locals, Bera municipality authorities have started development work on a vast tract of cultivable land beside the flood protection embankment on the Hurasagar River, much to the grievance of affected people. For this purpose, Water Development Board (WDB) handed over lease of huge cultivable land to the municipality authorities while the latter has started the process of acquiring a large area of private-owned cultivable land, said officials and locals. At a press conference held in Pabna Press Club on December 13, affected villagers warned of tougher agitation programme if the authorities do not stop 'taking' riverside cultivable land. In the first phase the municipality issued work order to fill up 16.5 acres of low land of WDB beside the embankment at Brishalikha in the upazila and the contractor concerned started filling up the land there last month, municipality officials said. “According to a lease agreement signed between Bera municipality and Bera Division of Water Development Board on March 11, 2009, the municipality authority is permitted to fill up the vast tract of water body belonging to WDB beside the embankment for development work, on condition of keeping the embankment and river safe,†said Md Kabibur Rahman, executive engineer of WDB, Bera Division. "Now we are filling up WDB's land according to agreement. After completing the acquisition of private-owned land in our project area through the deputy commissioner, we will start setting up the wholesale market and children's park beside the embankment at Brishalikha according to a Tk 50 crore master plan,†said Khandaker Firozul Alam, engineer of Bera municipality. “The government acquired land from the people here in 1972 for building the flood protection embankment. Villagers, most of them land donors, continued cultivating crops and growing fish on lease basis in the land that remained after the embankment construction. But suddenly the vast cultivable land was given to the municipality,†said Md Abdul Hamid, former president of Bera upazila unit of BNP, also affected due to the project. "On November 27 this year, a petition on behalf of the affected people was submitted to the Executive Magistrate's Court-2, seeking stoppage of the ongoing work beside the river. The court issued Section 144 on the day and asked the officer in charge of Bera police station to investigate the matter. Denying the court order, municipality contractor Md Nazrul Islam, also an influential ruling party leader, has continued filling up the land," said Md Abur Rob Sarkar, another 'victim' of the project. "Bera municipality Mayor Md Abdul Baten, also the younger brother of a state minister, influenced the local administration to start occupying the vast tract of cultivated land including our inherited property beside the river," said Abdur Rob Sarkar Rauj, also former secretary of Bera upazila unit of Chhatra League. Contractor Md Nazrul Islam, also secretary of Bera municipality unit of Awami League, denied getting any court order and said, “According to the municipality work order we are filling up the land with sand lifted from the Jamuna River with a dredger.â€
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