UNO sends notice to AL unit over land grabbing in Bogra

The public land, on which the Gosaibari Haat [market] is situated in Bogra, continues to fall prey to rampant land grabbing. Over the past few years, influential leaders of the ruling party and people from business community, have illegally built and leased hundreds of shops on the market grounds, using the name of the local administration. The unchecked land grabbing has caused the market area to shrink significantly, causing severe difficulties for the traders and the customers. A party office for the Awami League and its associate organizations is also being built in Gohati area, which belongs to the public. On Wednesday, Dhunat Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Razia Sultana sent a notice to the local unit of Awami League, giving nine ruling party leaders a seven-day deadline to remove the illegal structure built on the public land. Acknowledging the matter, Gosaibari Union Awami League President Abdul Hannan Nantu said: “Everyone is grabbing land, so we are building a party office with permission from the upazila level leaders. “We will decide the next course of action after receiving instructions from upazila party leaders.” The Dhaka Tribune has learned that the Gosaibari Haat is situated on some two acres of land. Every year, the Upazila Parishad leases the market to interested parties. The market was leased to Gosaibari Union Awami League Organizing Secretary Liakat Ali Liton for Tk31 lakh this year. According to sources, Liton and a number of other local influential people, including former chairman of the union Rasheduzzaman Ujjal and former local BNP general secretary Shamsul Islam are engaged in the illegal trade of leasing the public land for personal profit. More than hundred shops have been built on market grounds for this purpose, disrupting the market and shrinking its area. There are accusations that the ruling party leader Liton is planning to demolish previously built shops to build new ones in their place. General Secretary of the local Businessmen Association, Belal Hossain has reportedly been collecting Tk20,000 from interested parties for leasing those shops. Responding to a query, Belal firmly denied the allegation, and claimed that the land grabbing is being carried out by the leaders of Chhatra League and Jubo League. “In name of building a party office, three to four shops are being built in the Gphati area. The UNO has already sent a notice for the removal of this structure,” he added. Awami League Liton admitted that the ruling party leaders are illegally building structures on public land, but denied his involvement in the matter. Speaking to the correspondent, UNO Razia Sultana said: “A notice has been sent to nine Awami league leaders, including the Gosaibari Union unit president on Wednesday. The structure will be demolished if they are not removed even after seven days”