A permanent structure was being built behind colourful screens on land alleged to belong to Bangladesh Railway in Kashiani, Gopalganj, prompting local authorities to halt construction and order verification of the property documents.
The construction in Bhadulia area of Ratail union had been completely concealed from public view with bamboo poles and colourful fabric, while workers continued building inside with bricks, sand and other materials.
Following complaints about construction on government land, Assistant Commissioner (Land) Papia Sultana Liza visited the site and ordered the screens removed and construction stopped.
She also instructed the party carrying out the work to produce documents so the ownership and boundaries of the land could be verified.
“I visited the site after receiving reports of construction on railway land,” Liza said. “I have asked the concerned party to bring the documents to my office, and the land will be measured.”
The construction has been attributed by local residents to Gloria Biswas Manju, who rejected allegations that she was occupying railway property.
“I am constructing the building on my own land,” she said.
The competing claims mean it has yet to be officially established whether the structure is actually being built on railway land.
However, the decision to enclose the entire construction site has raised questions among local residents, who have demanded an examination of land records, lease documents and permissions before any further construction is allowed.
Encroachment allegations go beyond one plot
The dispute has also brought renewed attention to allegations of encroachment on valuable railway property across Ratail union.
Local residents alleged that railway land in Bhadulia, Chapta and Ghonapara has long been occupied through various means, in some cases using leases and in others allegedly continuing occupation after leases have expired or violating their conditions.
They also alleged that weak monitoring and, in some cases, collusion by field-level railway personnel have allowed government property worth crores of taka to remain vulnerable to encroachment.
Those broader allegations could not be independently verified.
The Bhadulia plot itself has previously been at the centre of disputes between rival claimants, according to locals, with confrontations resulting in legal proceedings.
Railway officials say the use and leasing of railway property are governed by specific conditions, and unauthorised construction or use outside the terms of a lease can constitute a violation.
Md Shafiqul Islam, divisional estate officer of Bangladesh Railway’s Paksey division, said he had not received a complaint concerning the Bhadulia construction.
“I have not received any such complaint. If a complaint is lodged, action will be taken against those involved,” he said.
Shafiqul Islam is currently listed in government records as Bangladesh Railway’s divisional estate officer in Paksey.
For now, the construction has been stopped pending scrutiny of the documents and measurement of the land, a process that should determine whether the building hidden behind the screens was being erected on private property, as its builder claims, or on railway land, as local residents allege.
