News
No.101/2015: Friday, July 03, 2015
THE BENGALI settlers
are attempting to grab 26 acres of land belonging to Jumma villagers and a
Buddhist temple in Manikchari with the help of the army, sources say.
‘Settlers from
Gochchiabil came to our Bokripara village in the morning today and began
clearing jungle’ one eyewitness said, adding that army personnel were providing
protection to the intruders.
He said the settlers
were clearing jungle at three different locations in Bokripara village while
the army providing protection to them.
At one location, Md.
Hasan and Md. Kashem – two brothers – and six others cleared jungle in 10 acres
of land belonging to Ratan Chakma (60) and Pattan Chakma (50).
Earlier, on 29 June,
they had planted mango saplings on a part of the said land after clearing it of
jungle.
Ratan and Pattan are
two brothers and they have been in possession of the land for 40 years.
At another location,
about the same time, a group of 14 Bengali settlers have begun clearing jungle
to grab 8 acres of land belonging to Mirzapur Shanti Dham Buddhist temple.
The land was purchased
by Ven. Bodhiratna Bhante from Pailapru Marma of the same village.
At yet another
location, six settlers led by Md. Yushuf of Gochchabil have cleared jungle to
occupy 8-acres of land belonging to Barun Chakma (47) son of Aila Mohan Chakma.
He has been in possession of the said land for 30 years.
The land owners said
they did not lodge protest at the spot because of the presence of the army.
However, they said they had informed the UNO about the matter.
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