Kamruzzaman Bablu :
Railway property of crores of taka across the country is still under illegal occupation, which the railway administration has been unable to recover due to obstructions given by the influential people having political link.
Railway sources said, Bangladesh Railway has a total of 61,860.35 acres of land in the country. Of the total land, the East Zone owns 24,440.93 acres and the West Zone holds 37,419.42 acres. And a total of 115.70 acres of land on the Tongi-Narayanganj section has been grabbed by different organizations and influential persons having political connection.
A railway inquiry reveals that nearly 50 acres of railway land is occupied in Narayanganj only. Thousands of slums and other structures have been constructed on 10 acres of land, while the remaining land is used as bus, gas and laguna stands.
Railway sources further said, the railway’s eviction attempts for 12 to 15 times were foiled by the occupants.
Thousands of illegal slums, markets, shops and multistoried buildings have been constructed on both sides of the rail line from Airport Station to Saydabad level crossing, and at Jurain and Postagola. At Anandabazar in the city, 2.87 acres of railway land witnesses illegal constructions, from single to seven-storied buildings. Local Bonik Samity took lease of the land in 1974.
“We are regularly paying rent to the authority,” said Solaiman Mia, President of the Jurain New Super Market Traders’ Association. We have filled up the low land and built the market. But when he was asked, who is the authority of the land? He avoided the question.
Another leader of the said association told this correspondent on condition of anonymity that they had spent nearly Tk four crore to take possession of the land. He claimed that the occupants were powerful enough to stop the evection drives several times. “About 15 to 20 eviction attempts were taken by the estate department of the railway, but every time it failed,” the leader claimed. When contacted, Railway Minister Mujibul Haque said, there are progress in retrieving the grabbed property. “We will make the railway property occupation-free gradually.”
“We cannot work fast as the grabbers filed a number of cases claiming the ownership.” The larger portion of the grabbed land, nearly 3378.22 acres, is under non-governmental organizations and individuals occupation, according to the railway ministry. “We are also mulling to conduct combined operation with the help of law enforcers,” an official said.
A large market has been constructed at Tejgaon by grabbing Railway land. The market has more than 400 shops with the blessings of some political leaders.
The railway ministry, along with the Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Annisul Huq, failed to retrieve the railway land at Tejgaon in 2015. Slums have been occupying land on both sides of the rail line from Karwan Bazar to Tejgaon for last 24 years. Three illegal markets, including one in the name of freedom fighters’ association have been set up.
In addition, Maghbazar Wireless Gate railway property was grabbed nearly 24 years ago. The 3.30 acres of land in the area has slums and different types of shops. Another three acres of land in Tongi Boubazar area has been grabbed by way of building markets there. There are 200 shops built on the east side of Tongi station.
Dhaka Railway Estate Officer Md Shahadat Hossain said that they were unable to regain the possession of the railway plots due to lack of adequate manpower and equipment.
Railway Secretary M Firoz Salahuddin said, “Railway has taken a number of projects at private level to minimize its losses.”
