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| The monastery and the Buddha statue kept inside it (left), and the helipad built by the army (right). |
Dighinala Correspondent, CHT News
Wednesday, November 5, 2025
In Binond Karbari Para of Mouza No. 46, Ward No. 7,
Dhanpada, under Babuchara Union of Dighinala upazila in Khagrachari district,
the army has turned the desanaloy (sermon hall) of Dhanpada Maini Bana Vihara
into a temporary camp and has built a helipad nearby.
According to sources, around 2:30 p.m. on October 31,
2025, a group of army personnel from the Dighinala Zone and the Merung
Chongrachari Sub-Zone arrived at the location and took over the room used as
the monastery’s desanaloy (sermon hall). The soldiers are now using this room
as a temporary camp. Shortly afterward, they constructed a helipad at a nearby
site.
The helipad was built about half a kilometer from the
monastery’s desanaloy (now being used as the temporary camp), on the jum
(shifting cultivation) land belonging to Bir Bahu Chakma and Doyal Kanti
Chakma.
It is reported that Captain Md. Azmir, Md. Mintu, and
Lt. Azmain from the Dighinala Zone, and Lt. Alif (3 Bengal) from the
Chongrachari Sub-Zone are leading the army contingent stationed there.
On that day (October 31), after arriving at the site,
the soldiers took over the desanaloy and forcibly brought the monastery’s
generator and solar panel to the army camp. They also broke into the dining
hall (bhojanaloy) and took away tools such as an axe and bricks that had been
stored for monastery construction.
The bricks taken from the monastery were reportedly
used to form the letter “H” on the helipad site.
Army commander Md. Mintu reportedly stated that
whatever materials they needed would be taken from the monastery.
Captain Azmir, the officer in charge, claimed that the
army had several old camps in that general area. According to him, there were
previously abandoned army camps at the following locations in Babuchara Union:
one in Ultachari Sadhan Chandra Karbari Para, one in Binond Kumar Karbari Para,
one south of Dhanpada Maitree Kalyan Buddhist Monastery, one in Chadarachara,
and one in the Borbo Para–Kalendra Karbari Para area of Ward No. 6.
Currently, the soldiers are patrolling various places
from the temporary camp. Locals report that they are also conducting river
patrols toward Naraichari using engine boats from Dhanpada.
Meanwhile, more than 70 soldiers are reportedly
stationed in the Chadarachara area.
The establishment of the temporary army camp and the
soldiers’ continued presence have created a sense of fear and anxiety among the
local residents.
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