Residents of Paikgachha upazila have staged a human chain demanding the cancellation of a one-year lease granted to outsiders over 37 decimals of recorded land in Gopalpur Mouza, which they say was wrongly shown as vested property (VP).
The protesters issued a 24-hour ultimatum for cancellation of the lease and demanded that the land be leased to the affected Ghosh family, whom they identify as the recorded owners.
The human chain was held at 11am on Tuesday, October 6, on the new road at Natun Bazar in the area. Residents organised the programme to protest the lease and demand its cancellation.
The event was chaired by Abul Hossain, joint convener of the Paikgachha upazila unit of the BNP.
Among those who addressed the gathering were Upazila BNP member Sheikh Benazir Ahmed Lal, Union Parishad member and Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal leader Mashiur Rahman Milon, Natun Bazar Traders Association President Ashok Kumar Ghosh and General Secretary Abu Saleh Md Iqbal. BNP leader Faruk Ahmed, UP member Abu Hasan, landowner Saugata Ghosh Sohag, Mostafa Morol, Mohor Ali, Jamshed Sardar, Sayed Ali Babla, Mashiur Rahman and Ruhul Amin also spoke, among others.
The speakers alleged that the Assistant Commissioner (Land) office had granted a settlement over 37 decimals of land in Gopalpur Mouza after listing it as vested property.
They claimed the land was recorded in the names of the ancestors of the Ghosh family and questioned its inclusion on the VP list and subsequent leasing.
According to Saugata Ghosh, the landowners have obtained two separate verdicts from the Senior Assistant Judges Court in Paikgachha and the District Judges Court in connection with the dispute. He also said injunction orders are in place.
He further said a case is ongoing before the district administration seeking the release of the land from the VP list.
The speakers alleged that the lease was therefore granted unlawfully.
After the settlement was granted, the beneficiaries reportedly began constructing houses on the disputed land. Local residents later demolished the structures, according to the speakers.
