Influential locals have allegedly occupied nearly 1km of the government-owned Loharangk Canal in Kotalipara upazila of Gopalganj, filling parts of it and building houses on the land, disrupting drainage and causing waterlogging in the area.
Although officials have identified and marked the encroached sections, the administration has yet to launch an eviction drive, prompting questions from local residents.
According to locals, several residents of Loharangk village, including Monir Biswas, Selim Biswas, Babul Molla, Imarat Molla, Amzad Molla, Mohammad Ali Daria, Sekendar Daria, Auwal Daria, Manir Daria, Kasem Daria, Ibrahim Daria, Kibria Biswas and Ratan Das, have allegedly occupied parts of the canal and built houses there.
On September 15, Farid Daria and around 100 other villagers submitted a written application to the deputy commissioner and the upazila nirbahi officer (UNO), seeking the recovery of the canal.
Following the application, officials from the district and upazila administrations visited the site, measured the canal and marked its boundaries with red flags. However, the encroached land has yet to be cleared.
Farid said some influential villagers had been occupying the canal and building houses there for around 30 years. The encroachment had left parts of the village waterlogged whenever it rained, he added.
“Officials measured the canal and marked its boundaries with red flags after receiving our application. Several days have passed, but the administration has yet to free the canal from encroachment,” he said.
Mohammad Ali Daria, one of the alleged encroachers, claimed that villagers had taken land for a public road from his property and given him part of the canal in exchange.
“If they return the land taken for the road, I will give up the canal land,” he said.
Another alleged encroacher, Monir Biswas, acknowledged building a house on the canal land, saying he would vacate it when instructed by the administration.
UNO Saif-ul-Arefeen said the authorities were still measuring the canal and determining its boundaries.
“Steps will be taken to evict the encroachers once the process is complete,” he said.
