The administration in the backdrop of huge landslides triggered by heavy shower and monsoon today asked the concerned landowners to evict the residents from 30 risky hills in the city by their own management.
Commissioner of Chittagong division Mohammad Ruhul Amin in the 17th meeting of the Hill Management Committee said the eviction of the residents of risky hills must be done by the respective landowners; if necessary they seek assistance from the district administration.
“The District Administration is often blamed regarding the eviction issues but the main task of it should be done by the owner organisations of the hills”, he added.
The commissioner also directed different public utility organisations to disconnect gas, power and water supply in those 30 hills.
The meeting, presided over by the divisional Commissioner, was addressed, among others, by Additional divisional commissioner (general) Sankar Ranjan Saha, deputy commissioner of Chittagong Zillur Rahman Chowdhury, representatives of different organisations and chairmen of different upazilas.
The administration came up with the move in order to avert possible loss of lives from landslides in the monsoon as the soil on the hills become softer and may trigger a landslide, posing threat to the lives of the low-living people dwelling on those risky hills pockets during the rainy season.
The administration at the advent of the monsoon every year, takes different rehabilitation programmes to relocate the risky hill-dwellers but in spite of knowing the impending dangers, the people of low income group mostly the rickshaw pullers and day labourers erect their temporary structures and start living in those hills.
According to the reports provided by the Chittagong Hill Management Committee, a total of 30 hills in the city are in very dangerous state to live there.
At least 189 persons were killed in different landslides in the city during last eight years, including 127 dead on June 11 of 2007.
