Hundreds of locals put up a barricade on the main entrance of Maddhapara Granite Mining Company Ltd yesterday to press home their five-point demands, including compensation for the people, who were directly and indirectly affected by the mining company.
People from Gurguri, Maddhapara, Khagrabondho, Uttara Rasulpur and Sultanpur villages under Dinajpur sadar upazila gathered in front of the company, which meets one-third of the of the country’s demand for hard-rock, in the morning and staged a sit-in in front of it.
Their demands include: proper management for waste disposal, providing compensation to the land owners, whose land have been leased for the mingling company, and compensation for the house owners, whose habitation were damage during a blast and proving jobs to the victims’ family.
Parbotipur Upazila Nirbahi Officer Rahenul Islam tried to remove the blockade with the help of law enforcement agencies.
Later, the protesters suspended blockade programme for the next seven days after getting assurance from the UNO that he would talk with the authorities of the company so that they take measures to full-fill the demands.
The UNO received a written complaint from the agitators in this regard.
Sources said the programme was organised under the banner of ’10 no Harirampur Jonokollyan Committee’.
President of the committee Masudur Rahman said houses of around 86 families of the five villages got damaged because of underground explosion caused by extraction of hard rocks.
Cracks had developed at many earthen and wood-made houses, he said, adding finding no alternative, villagers have been living at their dilapidated houses with risk risks.
Waste-mixed waters of the company have been hampering crop cultivations in the locality, local people alleged.
As toxic water enters into the cultivable land, farmers cannot be able to harvest their agri-produce for that reason they incur huge loss every year.
The villagers are not getting jobs in the mining company while people from other districts were recruited, they added.
In 1980s, the mining company authorities took lease of a vast tract of land, but it yet to pay 10% of the lease amount to the farmers.
Director General (marketing) Mir Abdul Hannan of the company refused to make any comments in this regard.
When contacted, Managing Director Sayed Abdul Fazal Nazmul Ahsan Hyder could not be reached despite several attempts.
