Evicted families struggling for survival: speakers
The eviction of 1,200 families from Rajshahi city’s Zianagar between December 2017 and January 2018 to build a hi-tech park was improper and in violation of human rights, said speakers at a discussion yesterday.
Pran o Prokriti Surokkha Mancha, a platform working for protection of lives and nature, held the discussion at a city restaurant, where they demanded immediate rehabilitation and compensations for the families.
Coordinator of the platform Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua said Ecnec approved a Tk 238.24 crore project to establish Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Hi-tech Park on 30 acres of land in the area in December 2016. Around 1,200 landless and marginalised people were living there for more than 15 years.
Local authorities forcibly evicted all families, and provided only 300 of them with Tk 50,000 to Tk 70,000 as compensation, said Jyotirmoy Barua.
Many of them -- including children and pregnant women -- had to live under open sky for days following the eviction. Authorities broke their promise to provide them with shelters, he said.
Speakers said the families are still struggling for survival.
Some of the evicted people shared their misery at the event.
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