The people living in char (landmass emerging from riverbed) areas of seven villages under Mymensingh Sadar upazila have reiterated their demand for revoking the administration's acquisition list that would evict hundreds of families.
At a rally held at Joy Bangla Bazar in Char Sirta union yesterday, the speakers said the administration paid no heed to the locals' demand despite months-long protest programmes against the 'unfair' land acquisition move.
The proposed acquisition area of 4366-acre land includes vast tracts of farmland and households mostly belonging to small and marginal farmers and sharecroppers, said speaker at the rally organised by 'Basatbhita Rokhha Committee'.
They demanded steps for a balanced development involving four unions along the Old Brahmaputra river, and urged the administration to use the vast tract of khas and unused land on both sides of the river on priority basis.
The proposed acquisition area include households of 17,000 families comprising 60,000 people, 475 family graveyards, six public graveyards, 30 government and non-government primary schools, three high schools, 47 mosques, four temples, six eidgah grounds and other establishments in Char Ishwardia, Char Gobindapur, Char Anandipur, Char Bhawanipur, Char Durgapur and Laxmir Algi villages, they said.
Committee convener Prof Syed Mosharraf Hossain, Awami League leader Shahidul Islam, Mohammad Shahjahan Sarker, Dr Harun-or-Rashid, Nadim Mustafa and Golam Kibria addressed the rally with Kazi Rafiqul Islam, committee's joint convener, in the chair.
