Members of the minority Harijan community Ward 9 Sweeper Colony in Barisal City Corporation (BCC) say they are living in fear of eviction.
Residents claimed that BCC verbally asked them to vacate the land after the upcoming Durga Puja to make way for a multistorey commercial complex. In protest, affected families submitted a memorandum to the city administrator at Nagar Bhaban on Thursday, demanding that the eviction be canceled.
When contacted, BCC Chief Executive Officer Rezaul Bari denied any decision to evict Harijans. “City Corporation has only asked non-Harijan residents, who are not part of the community but live in the colony, to leave,” he said.
They have no joy in Durga Puja this year, only fear of eviction from the land where they have lived for over a hundred years said residents of the colony.
Munu Lal, one of the petitioners, said the administrator’s personal assistant received their memorandum. “We hope he will consider our application so we can continue living in Sweeper Colony.”
Another resident, Jharna Lal, noted that while only nine families are employed by the City Corporation, nearly 30 families live in the colony. “As land prices rise, influential quarters are eyeing these colonies,” he alleged.
Elderly residents expressed similar frustration. Sixty-five-year-old Benu Rani, whose family has lived in the colony for seven generations, said: “We never thought of leaving. We do not understand why the City Corporation has suddenly turned against us.”
Seventy-five-year-old Chuni Lal added, “We have been serving city residents for ages. Now we are to be evicted from our land?”
Local elders said similar colonies exist in Kathpatti, Amir Kutir, Kaunia Bhakta Colony, and other areas of Barisal with the support of the City Corporation. They alleged that because Kathpatti is a commercial area, influential groups are trying to evict sweepers to build a commercial complex in cooperation with BCC.
Uttam Kumar Bhakta, president of the Bangladesh Dalit and Excluded Rights Movement (BDERM), said Harijans are already a marginalized community. “They receive meager salaries for serving the city, which is why colonies were set up for them. Now even these colonies are under threat.
“We strongly protest this and hope the authorities will halt the process,” he said, recalling a similar eviction attempt at Mirer Jalla Sweeper Colony in Dhaka, which was stopped by a High Court order.
