Land grab plan in Balaghata, Residents submit memo to CA

Residents of Balaghata in Bandarban Municipality demanded of the government to scrape a plan to acquire 131.27 acres of land in a residential area for the purpose of expanding Bandarban cantonment.

The demand was made in a memorandum submitted to the Chief Adviser of the Interim Caretaker Government via Deputy Commissioner of Bandarban on 2 December 2007. A total of 131 persons, both from Jumma and Bengali communities, endorsed and signed the memo.

The memo stated that if the plan is implemented a total of 196 families will be displaced. Of these families, 14 belong to Tongchongya nationality, while 30 families to Chakma, 15 to Marma, 29 to Hindu, 19 to Barua and 88 to Muslim communities.

The area proposed to be acquired also houses 3 Buddhist temples and a mosque. The Buddhist temples are Gyana Ratna Buddha Vihara, Lemuzhiri Agapara Buddha Vihara and Karunapur Bana Vihara. These temples will be destroyed if the said land is acquired.

The memo further stated that there are families who will be evicted for the third time in their lifetime. For example, Muktadhan Tongchongya, Nolini Mohan Tongchongya, late Chitra Sen Chakma alias Boidyo, late Chandra Mohan Tongchongya and Thoaingcha Pru settled in Balaghata after they were displaced by the construction of Kaptai dam in the 1960s. They were displaced for the second time when Bandarban Brigade headquarters were established in the early 1980s.

The memo alleged that the Bandarban brigade did not consult the residents of Balaghata before making the land acquisition proposal to the government. It said, "A truly democratic and people-oriented government usually takes the opinions of the people of the area concerned in undertaking plan, policy and decision that might affect them and consider the public opinions with due seriousness. However, just as no opinion of the potential victims has been taken before making the proposal to acquire land in Balaghata for the expansion of Bandarban cantonment, so also they have not been given the opportunity to be heard when the proposal is still under consideration. Furthermore, the government is not known to have assessed the extent of the potential losses either."

Refuting the justification for the expansion of Bandarban cantonment, the memo said "we know there are lots of lands lying vacant and unused within the boundary of the cantonment." It advised the cantonment authority to ensure the appropriate and optimum use of these lands instead of going for acquisition of new lands."


Sources by- Hill Watch Human Rights Forum, contact: hwhrf_99@yahoo.com or hwhrf.cht@gmail.com