Pond on occupied railway land
Workers engaged by a local influential person have continued illegally digging a pond on 10 decimals of land belonging to Bangladesh Railway (BR) in Kamalganj upazila of the district.
A section of local musclemen having political clout are grabbing the land at Shamshernagar railway station for over two months, said locals.
Senior Assistant Engineer Monirul Islam of Kulaura region at BR said they conducted drives in the area several times and stopped digging the pond but the grabbers resumed the work after the drive was over.
Abdul Mosabbir, former chairman of Shamshernagar Union Parishad, took lease three acres of railway land in the area a few years ago, but he built a number of small tin-shed houses on the land illegally violating the terms of the lease, said the engineer.
During a recent drive, they demolished the houses and recovered two acres of land from Mosabbir, he said, adding that they will conduct another drive soon to recover the rest land.
The railway tracks in Shamshernagar may collapse during monsoon if the work of digging the pond is not stopped, said engineer Monirul.
Mosabbir bought several acres of government khas land with the help of local touts by making forged documents, he said.
Refuting the allegation of grabbing the railway land, Mosabbir said earlier a misunderstanding on the land was created between him and the railway department but it is settled now.
"Railway engineer Monirul Islam submitted a written complaint to us about the ilegal occupation of the land," said Mohammad Ismail, sub-inspector of Srimangal Railway Police Station.
Necessary action will be taken after investigation, he said.
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