Hills razed, homes built
The hillocks at the centuries-old Tarapur Tea Estate, a Debottor (endowed) property in Sylhet, are being razed and grabbed by some locals.
After the estate remained illegally occupied by industrialist Ragib Ali and his son Abdul Hye for decades, it was returned to the shebait (caretaker) in line with a Supreme Court verdict in 2016.
A Sylhet court the next year sentenced Ragib and his son to 14 years in prison in a case filed for forging documents to grab the property. The two are now on bail after filing an appeal with the High Court.
However, as shebait Pankaj Kumar Gupta is yet to get full control over the estate due to some legal issues pending with the SC, another group of grabbers have started cutting hillocks and building houses there.
The estate authorities said these hillocks are not part of the estate’s tea garden and were not being used for plantation for long, which gives the grabbers the scope to build the homes made of corrugated sheets.
Some influential people in the area are behind the grabbing and the administration is not taking any serious steps to evict them, they alleged.
Following repeated complaints, the upazila administration conducted drives on August 4 and 7 and removed 22 structures, issuing an ultimatum for all the structures to be removed by August 20.
But no further drive was conducted after that, Pankaj told The Daily Star two weeks back.
While visiting the area in Baragul recently, these correspondents saw that almost all the houses which were knocked down during the drives were reconstructed again.
Around 30 houses, a madrasa and several other structures have been built by cutting parts of the hillocks.
Wishing anonymity, a number of locals said an individual named Moin Uddin, a resident of a nearby area, grabbed the hillocks and let others to stay there by taking money.
There are also allegations that the madrasa authorities used its students to cut the hillocks to clear out more space for the institution.
Mijanur Rahman, a teacher of the madrasa, admitted that they razed parts of hillocks, but denied involving students in hill cutting.
Jahangir Alam, who resides in one of the houses in the hillocks, claimed they built his home around nine years ago, after Moin gave them the place, which was not being used for any purpose.
Contacted, Moin said, “When Ragib Ali was selling land of the estate, we thought we would keep the hillock area by taking its possession. The madrasa was established in 2014-15, and many houses were built years ago.”
“I know the hillocks belong to the estate, but what should all these people do while they have been living here for years?” he asked.
However, the estate authorities said these houses were built in the last couple of years, after the shebait took charge of the estate in 2016.
Several locals supported the estate’s version. The grabbers began razing the hillocks only a couple of years ago, they added.
Shebait Pankaj said, “The Supreme Court strictly said no structure can be constructed and also ordered the district administration to keep in mind all clauses of the verdict.”
He added, “These structures were built in the last couple of years and following repeated complaints to the administration, they finally conducted two drives in August.”
Kazi Mahua Momtaj, upazila nirbahi officer of Sylhet Sadar, said, “We gave them an ultimatum to move from the hillocks by August 20, but could not conduct any further drives due to some unavoidable circumstances and as our assistant commissioner (land) was transferred.”
She added, “The new assistant commissioner (land) already took charge and we will conduct drives at the hillocks again to evict them permanently.”
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