The affected residents alleged that sand filling, road construction and preparations for future eviction were being carried out in different areas in the name of the Jalsiri project without purchasing the land from its owners.
A human chain was organised in front of the National Press Club at 10am on Friday (August 28) by the Paitrik Bhita-Mati Sangrakshan Parishad. Later at noon, the organisation held a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU).
Ahsan Ullah, convener and member secretary of the organisation, read out a written statement at the press conference. Several local residents, including Alhaj Abu Bakar Siddique, Rafiqul Islam, Sergeant Ilias Parvez, Abdus Salam, Ahsan Ullah Master, lawyer Nazmul Islam and lecturer Nur Salam, also spoke.
The residents stressed that their movement was not against the Bangladesh Army. Rather, they said they were protesting alleged attempts to occupy land, fill agricultural areas with sand and deprive local people of their ancestral homesteads in the name of the Jalsiri project.
According to their written statement, an attempt was made in 2010 to take control of around 7,000 bighas of agricultural land across 17 mouzas in Kayetpara and Rupganj unions without acquisition. They alleged that local residents who protested at the time faced attacks and lawsuits.
They further claimed that parts of the region's triple-crop agricultural land were subsequently occupied through sand filling.
The affected residents alleged that activities under Jalsiri Project-1 began by intimidating landowners and with the support of influential local people. Later, a boundary-indicating map was prepared for Jalsiri Project-2, incorporating agricultural land and homesteads in Kayetpara and Rupganj unions.
They alleged that sand filling is now being carried out at various locations on the basis of that map, despite the land allegedly not being purchased from the owners.
The residents said more than 200 people had submitted written complaints to Rupganj Police Station over the issue. They also said nearly 100 complaints containing specific RS plot numbers had been submitted through the assistant superintendent of police to the police station.
They further said memoranda had been submitted to the Upazila Nirbahi Officer and the Deputy Commissioner of Narayanganj, but claimed that no effective action had been taken despite repeated appeals.
The residents also alleged that the Ichhakhali canal in Rupganj had been filled with sand.
According to them, the canal had long served as an important route for boat movement, irrigation of agricultural land and fishing. They claimed that after the canal was filled, residents of around 24 nearby villages had been facing waterlogging.
They demanded immediate removal of the sand from the canal, re-excavation and restoration of navigability.
At the press conference, the residents also placed a nine-point set of demands, seeking the Prime Minister's intervention.
Their demands include stopping sand filling and road construction without purchasing land from the owners; re-excavating the Ichhakhali canal; publishing the precise boundaries and maps of the housing project; establishing the project away from existing homesteads; and ensuring appropriate compensation and rehabilitation for those affected.
They also called for protection of agricultural land and ancestral homesteads and urged the authorities to take effective measures to address the concerns of local residents.
