Poor's access to land can't be ensured without strong local body Prof Wahid

Eminent economist and former adviser Professor Wahiduddin Mahmud said that poor peoples' access to land cannot be ensured unless there is strong local government body in the country. brThe former adviser made the remark at a workshop on the poor peoples' land access issue at CIRDAP auditorium in the city Tuesday, reports UNB. brIn this connection, Prof Mahmud cited the example of West Bengal of India where poor people are successful due to their strong local government body. brHe alleged that illegal land grabbers having political influence are still continuing to grab lands. brIf you travel by the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway, you'll find the land grabbers built thousands of garden houses on the forest lands. They took lease of those lands in the name of industry or filling station, he told the audience.brCentre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) organised the workshop on 'Access to Land and Other Natural Resources by the Rural Poor The Case of Bangladesh'. brVenting his deep frustration Prof Mahmud said I have suggested the present caretaker government to punish these land grabbers in exemplary manner. But, unfortunately, they were not punished. Rather, they are still continuing their misdeeds. brHe also alleged that the rich and politically influential people are also grabbing the riverbeds of Buriganga and other rivers and also the newly created char lands in the coastal areas across the country.brHe said access to land issue is very important in the context of Bangladesh as this is a unique and only active delta in the world where thousands of people are falling victims of river erosion. They lose their land and all belongings to the marauding rivers. brThis is a great human disaster and there should be a permanent system to settle the affected people.brProf Mahmud thought that the country's 90 per cent farmers are marginal farmers and they have got very small piece of land or no land at all.brSo, if they want to get out of poverty, they have to have diversified sources of income along with the agricultural farming. Otherwise, they will always remain as poor, he said. brLGRD Secretary ATM Fazlul Karim and CIRDAP Director General Dr Durga P Paudyl also spoke at the function, while Dhaka University Associate Prof Selim Raihan presented the keynote paper at the function. brIn his keynote, Raihan claimed that rural people are losing their access to land due to various factors. They could only be protected through land reforms, he said.