RAJSHAHI, Jan 7: An influential quarter of Rajshahi were grabbing hundreds of acres of newly emerged land on the dried bed of river Padma by depriving poor farmers who used to cultivate those lands for ages. As a result, those lands are now being used to cultivate varieties of crops and vegetables including mustard, lentil, tomato and spinach.
It is learnt, soon after the recession of water from the riverbed of Padma in mid-September, miles after miles of land covering several hundred hectares, from Padma garden to Sreerampur area along the city have been emerged. Local influentials and smugglers have grabbed those lands and were cultivating crops and vegetables there.
As a result of occupation of those land by local influentials, hundreds of poor farmers who used to cultivate those land for ages and used to produce crops and vegetables there, were being deprived of their age old rights.
Now, most of those poor farmers were either taking lease of the same land from those influential land grabbers in exchange of money or remained unemployed by losing their only means of earning.
Akbar Ali, a local farmer informed, this year, a huge char with alluvial soil has been emerged on the river bed of Padma and all of those lands have now been occupied by local influential persons and those who used to cultivate those land for ages remained helpless spectators.
Those influential persons were claiming those land belonged to their father and forefathers, others were claiming to take lease of the land from the Deputy Commissioner while some others were claiming to take lease of those land from the committee of Hazrat Shah Makhdum Dargah (shrine). Actual farmers who have been cultivating those lands for years were not allowed to step in on those lands.
According to sources, those who were grabbing the land include Toshu of Laxmipur area, Sagar Ahmed and his brother of Pathanpara area, Rubel Hossain and Bobin of Dargapara and Dalim, Shahin and Samrat of Dargapara, Iqbal Hossain and Sarowar Hossain both residents of Pathanpara area and 15 to 20 more influentials of the city.
Dalim Hossain of Dargapara area in this connection said, 'I have cultivated lentil on 32 bighas of land by procuring lease from Shah Makhdum Dargah committee. The dargah committee belongs 600 bighas of land on the river bed of Padma.
This year those lands have been emerged and we, 20 to 30 of us, were cultivating those land and growing crops and vegetables there. There was no profit in leaving those land abandoned rather we were contributing to the economy of the country by producing crops there'.
Rubel and Sagar Hossain also made identical claims said they have taken lease of those land from Dargah committee.
Meanwhile, Iqbal Hossain and Sarwar Hossain of same Dargapara area claimed, the charland in which they have been cultivating lentil belonged to their paternal property. They added, they were cultivating the land for ages by taking lease of those lands from the Deputy Commissioner of Rajshahi.
Badar Mia and Tuhsar Ali of Pathanpara area said, they were cultivating lentil in their paternal char land.
Sabeth Ali, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) of Rajshahi in this connection said, 'No land at the char of Padma has been leased out to anyone but, if poor farmers want to cultivate crop on the char land of Padma, we would assist them.'
Meanwhile, Agriculture Extension Department sources in Rajshahi informed, in the charlands of Godagari, Bagha and Charghat, 1,954 hectares of land have been brought under cultivation of various crops and vegetables.
Farmers at the charland of the river Padma were cultivating wheat, lentil, maskalai, sweet potato, tomato, maize, onion and other crops. Excepting the lands near the city protection embankment, all the charlands are being owned as paternal or personal properties.
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