Stop setting it up on temple land
Forty-four eminent citizens in a joint statement yesterday expressed anger over the local municipality's construction of public toilets on the land of Kuakata Buddhist Vihara.
They also called for a thorough investigation into the demolition of the monastery wall and the attempted construction of public toilets in violation of the High Court's stay order.
Despite protests from the local Rakhine community, Kuakata municipal authorities in Patuakhali have initiated construction works for public toilets, allegedly encroaching upon the land of a 240-year-old Buddhist temple.
Although there is a court-issued injunction in February 2021 barring the construction of any structure on the contested land, the municipal authorities proceeded with the construction of public toilets on Saturday night.
"When the monastery objected to the construction by displaying a copy of the order earlier, the municipal authorities stopped the work. However, on February 24, during the night, the construction of the roof of the public toilet was completed," the statement read.
Setting up toilets on a temple is a ploy to evict the indigenous local community of their land in Kuakata, the statement added.
The signatories include Sultana Kamal, rights activist; Khushi Kabir, coordinator of Nijera Kori; ZI Khan Panna, senior Supreme Court lawyer; Rasheda K Chowdhury, former advisor to a caretaker government; Rana Dasgupta, general secretary of Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad; Syeda Rizwana Hasan, chief executive at BELA; Iftekharuzzaman, executive director at TIB; Sharmeen Murshid, chief executive officer of Brotee; Barrister Sara Hossain, honorary executive director at BLAST; Sanjeeb Drong, general secretary at Bangladesh Adivasi Forum; and Shamsul Huda, executive director at ALRD.
Comments