Over a hundred affected landowners of Chunkutia under Keraniganj on the capital's outskirts yesterday placed signboards of ownership on the lands being filled up by Bashundhara Group for a housing project.

Organised by Chunkutia Mouja Landowners' Samiti, the villagers gathered on the Chunkutia-Khejurbagh road to the north of Dhaka-Mawa highway to free their lands from Bashundhara Group, Samiti leaders said.

Basundhara, one of the country's largest conglomerates, has filled up hundreds of bighas of arable lands, ponds and fish breeding centres in Chunkutia and Khejurbagh areas apparently for a housing project.

“Our only demand is that Basundhara Group must stop this project and go away from Chunkuthia,” said Rozi Akhtar, a domestic help who owns a two-decimal plot of land.

Elderly Razia Begum, who stays alone on her five-decimal plot of land, also protested the land grabbing.

Meanwhile, Basundhara Group Chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan Shah Alam sat with he Samiti leaders on October 25 and offered three options to the local landowners, said Samiti General Secretary SA Lokman.

The offers are: Either the landowners have to sell their lands or they can develop their lands through a joint-venture with Bashundhara or they can swap their lands with the group, said Lokman.

The Samiti, however, did not accept the proposals.

“The negotiation was nothing but a drama to buy time and foil the ongoing movement,” said Lokman.

“We sat with them three times so far but nothing fruitful came out of those meetings,” he added.

Three booster machines along with dredgers were brought to expedite the pace of earth filling, said Shyamal Chandra Saha, a Samiti leader.

Affected landowners have so far lodged a total of 276 general diaries (GD) with South Keraniganj Police Station in this connection but police are yet to take any action, said Shyamal.

Deputy Managing Director of East West Properties of Basundhara Group said earlier that his company had purchased 275 bighas of land in the locality since 2001.

The landowners also staged demonstrations on October 16, July 10 and 17 to draw government's attention.