An anti-encroachment drive was conducted by the BR Estate Department at Mogolhat rail gate in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila recently- FE Photo OUR CORRESPONDENT
LALMONIRHAT, Jan 25: The authorities of Bangladesh Railway (BR) Estate Department in a series of crackdowns since the August 5 political changeover have removed 208 illegal structures from the Lalmonirhat-Panchagarh stretch of the railway land lying under illegal occupation.
During the drives, the BR authorities also reclaimed six acres of land within the same stretch under the ownership of the Lalmonirhat Railway Division from the possession of grabbers mostly enjoying political clout of the deposed Awami League and their cohorts. During the past 17 years, men linked to AL and their influential associates encroached upon vast tracts of the railway land.
Rakibuzzaman Ahmed, the then organising secretary of the district AL and also son of Nuruzzaman Ahmed, former social welfare minister, built an amusement park on a piece of railway land beside Tushvander railway station area under Kaliganj upazilla of Lalmonirhat.
During the anti-encroachment operations since the regime shift on August 5, 2024, the Railway Estate Department demolished 208 illegally built structures in various points belonging to the Lalmonirhat Railway Division and recovered more than six acres of land from the grabbers. Sources at the Estate Department said earlier they had tried several times to retrieve the grabbed land and served notices to the grabbers as well to that end but failed.
On the contrary, the railway authorities rather faced obstacles in different ways from the encroachers.
Most of the grabbers were relatives of the then ministers, lawmakers, influential ruling AL's men and their associates.
They built offices and business establishments on the illegally occupied railway land and had been continuing their activities for the past one and a half decades.
Even some of them sold the occupied land to others after personal usage.
Sources said on August 19 last year a team of the Estate Department Lalmonirhat BR removed one establishment from the grabbed land in Lalmonirhat railway station area , on August 22, the authorities demolished 20 illegal establishments in Dinajpur, on August 19 they dismantled three establishments in Bagura, on September 10 three illegal establishment in Kurigram, on September 12 one establishment in Lalmonirhat, on September 18, they recovered 51 decimal land in Tushvander of Lalmonirhat and on September 22, they reclaimed 80 decimal land from illegal occupation in Kurigram. On October 21, the authorities razed five illegal establishments in Gaibandha and recovered 10 decimal land, on October, they recovered 30 decimal land at Vorotkhali of Gaibandha, on October 29, they recovered 45 decimal land in Thakurgaon while on November 18 and 19, the authorities retrieved 57 decimal land from illegal possession in Tushvander under Kaliganj upazila.
On December 17, the authorities removed seven illegal structures and recovered 35 decimal land in Kaunia of Rangpur, on December 23 , they evicted 16 structures and recovered 53 decimal land and on December 26, they retrieved six structures and recovered 50 decimal land.
On January 12, the BR Estate Department conducted a drive at Mogolhatrail gate of Lalmonirhat and demolished 40 illegal shops, establishments on railway land and recovered 50 decimal land from the grabbers. This valuable land was grabbed by late Chhatra League leader Zaharul Haque and his associates.
Abdur Razzak, assistant estate officer of Lalmonirhat Railway Estate Department, said that after the ouster of the fascist AL government, they conducted several drives without any obstruction and demolished 208 illegal establishments, shops and recovered more than six acres of land worth several cores of taks. These pieces of railway land had been under the illegal occupation of influential AL leaders and workers for long.
Many of the encroachers are sons, brothers and relatives of ex-ministers and lawmakers of the AL.
It is also alleged that some dishonest officials of the railway estate office allocated land in many places of Lalmonirhat, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Kaunia, Rangpur, Bogura, Dinajpur, Panchagarh, Thakurgaon and other places under the Lalmonirhat Division taking bribe. A huge quantity of railway's valuable land from Burimari to Panchagarh under Lalmonirhat division still remains illegally occupied. If this land can be recovered and legally allocated, hundreds of cores taka revenue can be earned every year, sources concerned said.
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