Lakes, other water bodies in Khagrachhari disappearing
Most land grabers belong to a ruling party
Jasim Majumder, Khagrachhari
Natural lakes, canals and other water bodies in picturesque Khagrachhari town are disappearing fast as land grabbers are illegally filling up those and constructing buildings and makeshift structures. Neither the district administration nor the pourasabha take any effective step to stop the land grabbing as most of the grabbers belong to ruling parties, sources told this correspondent. They are building houses, shops and slums, without caring the authorities as they seldom take any legal action against encroachers. During a recent spot survey this correspondent found illegal structures encroaching on Kalabagan lake, Master Para lake, Pankhiyapara lake, Muslim Para canal, Narikel Bagan canal and Golabari canal. Most of those mushroomed in last four years, locals said. Investigation by this correspondent revealed that most of the encroachers are leaders of ruling parties. In some of the cases, the encroachers have procured papers showing some sort of 'lease' from the authorities. But the authorities, when contacted later, denied having leased the spots. The largest lake in the town, the Kalabagum lake, has lost its beauty as land grabbers have built structures on all its banks. The lake, once an attractive place for townspeople and tourists for its scenic beauty, is now virtually off-limits to them because of encroachment and pollution. "We have lost a nice recreation spot", Siraj Mia, a local resident lamented while talking tot this correspondent. The pourashava authorities on December 27 took some 'face-saving' steps in Shantinagar area in the town by evicting some illegal structures, leaving those on banks of water bodies untouched. Some sources alleged that the Pourasabha Chairman, being a BNP leader, can not take any effective step as most of the encroachers are men of ruling parties. There are at least 30 illegal shops on the side of Pankhayapara lake. The pourasabha issued notices on their owners several months ago, only to be ignored by the encroachers, sources said. The most luxurious hotel in the townZiranwas built illegally on the bank of Chengi river by a former Jatiya Party (Ershed) lawmaker during their rule. A member of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council also built his houses illegally on the bank of the canal. As the authorities did not take any step to demolish the two massive illegal structures, others are now building slums on the Chengi river and renting those, locals said. Seeking anonymity, a high official of the pourasabha said the authorities are helpless as most of the land grabbers are ruling party leaders.
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