Affected people start 72-hr fast demanding full compensation

Victims of land subsidence in 10 villages around Barapukuria coal mine in Dinajpur district start a three-day hunger strike in front of the mine complex entrance yesterday demanding quick disbursement of the compensation money earlier granted by the authorities concerned.Photo: STAR

The land subsidence victims of 10 villages around Barapukuria Coal Mine Company Ltd (BCMCL) started a three-day fast yesterday demanding quick disbursement of the full amount of money granted under the authorities' compensation package.
"If our demands are not met within the three days, we will start a fast unto death on Thursday in front of the coal mine entrance," said Ibrahim Khalil, convener of Jibon O Shampad Rakkha Committee, an organisation of the affected people who enforced the programme.
Hundreds of land subsidence victims including a good number of women gathered in front of the BCMCL entrance and started their fasting programme at around 1:00am yesterday to realise their 10-point demand including early disbursement of the compensation money.
The victims said Dinajpur deputy commissioner's office received Tk 190 crore in April last year and started disbursement of cheques among the land subsidence victims on September 22 the same year.
But cheques worth only 40 percent of the money have been given to them so far while most of the people who received the cheques as compensation failed to collect the money from the respective banks as the cheques were returned, they victims alleged.
Other demands of the victims include preparation of a correct list of landless people of the affected area and giving every landless people their due money granted by the government. According to the compensation plan, each of the landless people is to get Tk 2 lakh as compensation.
The previous figure shows 318 landless people in the area but the affected villagers alleged harassment and commitment of faults by the surveyors while preparing the list.
They demanded completion of correct processing of papers in the affected area and administrative action against the surveyors who prepared 'faulty' survey list.
The villagers also warned that the deputy commissioner's office will be responsible if any unwanted accident occurs at the surrounding villages as due to non-payment of the compensation money the people have been living at their ancestral homes and working at the arable lands in the area that developed cracks due to land subsidence.
The land subsidence was first detected in May 2006.
The affected people also demanded the nine months' bank interest estimated Tk 15 crore as Tk 190 crore compensation has not been fully paid although the amount was sent to the DC office in April last year.
Md Belal Hossain, general secretary of Jibon O Shampad Rakkha Committee, demanded immediate disbursement of their remaining 60 per cent money and early payment of all compensations for damaged infrastructure including mosques, temple, graveyard, schools, colleges and madrasas.
The deputy commissioner's office and BCMCL authority assured jobs for the affected people but they are yet to get any jobs with the coal mine, the victims alleged.
The BCMCL authority pledged Tk 1.25crore as crop compensation but the promise has not been met, they said.
BCMCL authority said that they handed over the crop compensation money to Dinajpur Deputy Commissioner's office.
December 5 last year, they gave an ultimatum to meet their demands within December 25, but they are yet to get their compensation, said the affected people who have been agitating since 2009.
When this correspondent contacted with Dinajpur Deputy Commissioner (DC) Md Jamal Uddin Ahmed at his office on November 16 last year, he said that the money would be disbursed within December 31. But the villagers have so far got cheques for only 40 per cent of the money.
DC Md Jamal Uddin Ahmed could not be contacted as he did not receive this correspondent's phone calls despite several attempts.