Ruling party men grab 20-acre railway land in Bogra

According to local sources, local AL leaders and influential built up markets in the Eastern and Western sides of the Karatoya Bridge near the station by grabbing railway’s land. Locals alleged that railway authorities sometime conduct eviction drives against the grabbers but grabbers again grab the lands after few days of the drives. Sources of Borga railway station wishing anonymity told to the Dhaka Tribune that railway banned land lease system in 1997 but the authorities used to give lease the land of the station illegally by taking huge amount of bribe. Officials of railway claimed that setting up buildings within 20 feet of the rail track is totally illegal. But several local leaders of AL set up markets near the railway truck and rent them to local traders. Few corrupted officials helped the grabbers to set up the markets on railway lands by giving them lease the land defying laws. Grabbers also filled up two ponds of railway in Kamarbari area in the town and set up markets there. Local people requested to the railway authorities to recover the ponds but their efforts went in vein. Mokarrom Hossain, an official of Bogra railway station also filed a case against the grabbers in this connection. Apart from these, grabber also grabbed railway lands at in front of Government Azizul Haque College, Tinmatha and Bafar godown areas in the town. On September 5, a team of railway led by Dr Abdul Mannan, head of land of Rajshahi Divisional Eastern Railway, conducted eviction drives at Eastern side of the Karatoya Bridge and Tinmatha areas. During the drives the team evicted hundreds of tiny shops but they did not conducted drive at Western part of the bridge. When contacted, Benjurul Islam, acting superintendent of Bogra railway, told that railway authorities conducted drives against the grabbers and confiscated their wealth. Drives against the grabbers will begin again, he claimed.