The construction work of Khulna-Mongla railway project is underway. The only thing left before the rail lines are laid down is the compensation for the acquired lands. However, owners of those lands are allegedly constructing new buildings in the areas demarcated for acquisition in the hopes of getting increased compensations.
Even though no one lives in these new houses and buildings, hasty construction work is taking place in nearby areas of Khulna Fultola rail station, Damodor, Moshiali, Atra, Shiromoni; Bil Dakatia, Bil Pabla, Lota, Khamarbari of Dumuria upazila among other places. Concrete structures are being built on empty waterbodies as well.
It is alleged that the land owners are adopting this trick to obtain additional cash in the form of compensation from the railway project with the help of corrupt local administration personnel. The district administration office stated that legal action will be taken against those land owners who are raising additional buildings in the areas demarcated for the project.
Khulna District Administrator Md Mostofa Kamal said he visited some of the areas including Fultola rail station and found that the newly constructed buildings along the Fultola rail lines do not fall under the demarcated areas. He added that the railway and district administration jointly selected the lands to be acquired and have video documentation to support it. Any new establishments in those areas will be evicted without compensation.
For the Khulna-Mongla railway project, 400 acre land in Khulna, 278 acre in Bagerhat, and 73 acre in Mongla have been demarcated in the acquisition process.
Akram Hossain, 60, a resident of Shiromoni area said he constructed a concrete structure in his acquired four decimal land in Bil Dakatia in the hopes of getting twice the price for the land and additional compensation. Another Md Kibria did the same on his two-and-half acre land. They are carrying out these construction works during the night.
Ansar member Mobarak Sheikh, posted as security guard at Fultola rail station two months back, said he had been keeping an eye on the red-flagged lands demarcated for acquisition and saw land owners building various structures there.
The Khulna-Mongla railway construction project was approved by the Executive Committee of National Economic Council on December 21, 2010. The project is funded jointly by the governments of Bangladesh and India. On June 14, 2012 a deal was signed with a consulting firm. Afterwards, a deal was signed between Bangladesh and India for the supervision of feasibility study, design, tender request, and construction of the project. Later, India’s Consulting Engineers Group Ltd and Nippon Koei India Pvt Ltd were hired as consultants.
