Strict use of law must to end land grabbing
Expressing concern over indiscriminate land grabbing and uneven water sharing that will cause serious socio-economic hazards to the country, speakers yesterday called upon political parties to prioritise these issues in their election manifestos.
They urged the government to implement the existing laws to save land and rivers from grabbers.
The speakers made the call at the inaugural session of a two-day regional workshop on “Land and water governance in Asia: Resource sharing and cooperation” organised by Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD) at the capital's BRAC Center Inn.
Syeda Rizwana Hasan, chief executive, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), presented a keynote paper titled “Grabbing of land and water, transboundary water sharing and rights”.
In her paper, she spoke on how people have been victims of land grabbing since the colonial period.
Rizwana said the demand of water for agriculture, industries and households will increase by 30 to 40 percent by 2050 when about two billion people of Asia will face severe water shortage.
Social Welfare Minister Rashed Khan Menon said the issue of development has gradually become prioritised whereas movement against land grabbing has waned.
Nathaniel Don Marquez, executive director of Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC), said industries like mining, real estate, and tourism compete for the same land and water resources on which small farmers and fishermen are dependent.
Among others, Executive Director of ALRD Shamsul Huda and its Chairperson Khushi Kabir addressed the programme.
ROHINGYA ISSUE
A five-member delegation comprising nationals from Bangladesh, India, and the Philippines made a two-day field visit to some Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar in September. They had a report sharing session with media representatives at the workshop.
“They [locals] do not want Rohingyas to return to Myanmar without guarantee of their citizenship and safety,” the delegation said in a statement.
Responding to a query, Shamsul Huda said civil society-level talks with regional powers like China should have been initiated for facilitating Rohingya repatriation.
The delegation members were Nathaniel Don Marquez, Rowshan Jahan Moni and AKM Bulbul Ahmed of ALRD; Ujjaini Halim of Institute for Motivating Self-Employment, India; and Denise Musni of ANGOC.
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