Government Land Seized by Blocking Bridge Access in Kashiani

Locals have accused some powerful people in Kashiani, Gopalganj, of closing the mouth of a bridge of the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) to grab government khas land. Water can no longer drain under the bridge, so a large wetland may soon face waterlogging. The crop land of several thousand farmers is also at risk. In the rainy season, farmers will lose their boat route to carry paddy and farm goods.

The incident took place at the LGED bridge near Chotobahirbag Miabari on the Narail Fukra road in Fukra Union of the upazila. Locals have given a written complaint to the Deputy Commissioner of Gopalganj about it.

The complaint says that some powerful people of Chotobahirbag village are filling government khas land of plot number 676 with sand and joining it with their own land. The accused include Mr. Biku Mia, Mr. Raiz Mia, Mr. Mostaq Mia and Mr. Akbar Molla. They have already closed the mouth of the LGED bridge fully with bamboo and nets.

If water cannot flow under the bridge, the water of the large wetland around it cannot drain out. The crop land may get waterlogged and become unfit for farming. In the rainy season, farmers will also fail to carry paddy and other farm goods by boat. The farmers will suffer greatly.

Mr. Suman Mia, Mr. Nazmul Mollik, Mr. Mashiur Mollik, Mr. Tunnu Mia and some other farmers said they own several hundred bighas of farm land in the wetland of that area. They said that if people fill the bridge mouth with sand and block the way of water, the vast crop land will get waterlogged. This will hurt crop production and cause a big loss to the farmers.

The farmers said the authorities must remove the block at the bridge mouth to protect their crop land. They said the water must drain in its natural way. They also asked the administration to step in quickly.

Mr. Raiz Mia, one of the accused, spoke to a reporter over the mobile phone and denied the charge. He said, “I am not alone. The locals are building a road to reach the graveyard. But there is some government land there.”

Mr. Md. Shahin Mia, Upazila Executive Officer (UNO) of Kashiani, said he did not know about the matter. He said the administration will look into it and take the needed steps. He said it will not allow any act that harms farmers or grabs government property.