A total of 136 landless families in Patuakhali demanded rehabilitation before being evicted as their place is being cleared out due to the land acquisition of Payra Port.
These 136 families, who are living at the slope of an embankment at Zia Colony in Itbaria village under Tiakhali union of Kalapara upazila, had been protesting for three days, demanding rehabilitation before eviction.
As a road is going to be constructed over the embankment, these families are going to be evicted. They are not being compensated, nor are they being rehabilitated. The contractor company came to evict them without any prior notice.
A group of the landless families met with the Kalapara Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Rabiul Islam on Friday as they were terrified about being evicted. When a discussion was going on among the group and the UNO, the contractor company went to evict the families with excavator. Later, the UNO discussed the matter with Payra Port authority and instructed the contractor company not to evict the families.
UNO Md Rabiul Islam wrote on Facebook that the upazila administration of Kalapara or the Upazila Land Office of Kalapara has not given any directive to evict the 136 families, living adjacent to Zia Colony, for road construction. The upazila administration had previously decided that no eviction activities would be carried out without ensuring a place for these 136 families to live. The concerned contractor has been instructed to halt the work.
Ibrahim Shikari, who is also going to be evicted, said having no land of our own, we have been living on the slopes of the embankment for a long time, despite facing various hardships. We have learned that since the land belongs to the Bangladesh Water Development Board, we will not receive any compensation or rehabilitation if we are evicted. After the eviction, we have no idea where we will live or what we will do.
Although 3,423 families, who were affected by the land acquisition of Payra Port, are being rehabilitated, these 136 landless families did not get any compensation or help. Even after repeated discussions with the UNO, no official solution has been reached.
