In Ulipur Upazila of Kurigram, the festival of taking and selling soil for digging canal of Dhamsreni Union is going on. This soil, which is meant to make a dam is going to brick kilns and construction. Unscrupulous traders are making millions by selling soil with tractors. For almost two years, the organized group has been running this festival under the tutelage of the administration, but the administration has practically taken no role. As a result of the sale of the soil, the houses along with the arable land will sink and the dug canal will be filled in the monsoon season, the locals fear.
According to the sources of Kurigram Water Development Board, from Kanchkol in Chilmari Upazila to Tengnakura in Dhamsreni union of Ulipur, the work of digging about 12 km of canal was started in the fiscal year 2020-21 at a cost of 8 crore Tk. The work was given to two contracting firms through two tenders. About 1300 meters of which have been excavated. The rest of the work could not be done. On sharing the issue of canal digging with the farmers at the field level, they questioned the acquisition, due to which the work could no longer be carried out.
Complaints have been raised that the Water Development Board did the work of digging the canal in the financial year 2020-21, but after that the authorities did not come to inquire.
Due to which the soil of the dam has been sold. The upper level government officials have made it possible to sell this soil. A cycle by managing the landowners next to the embankment has sold the topsoil to brick kilns and is now taking it to construction.
It can be seen on the surface, about 10-15 workers are cutting the embankment in 2 sports and a class of moneylenders are taking the soil of the embankment with tractors. The money from the sale of dam soil is going into the pockets of the local authorities. The long embankment north of the embankment is about 3 km in length and the soil of this 3 km has been completely removed by a cycle. Now the soil of the southern bank is being looted.
An anonymous tractor owner involved in the sale of soil said, "We buy soil at Tk 100 per vehicle and sell it at Tk 600."
Babu Mia, a tractor driver, said that the land owners made an agreement with them and then delivered the soil to the buyers.
Land owner Mahmudul Hasan Sujan and Amin Uddin said that the water development board has given the opportunity to cut this average soil. The soil excavators in the north have done this injustice in coordination with the land owners in the beginning. After that, the sale of average soil in the south has started.
Selling land Two more people who did not want to be named said that they are selling some soil and using some soil for their own work. They also said that we cannot say anything about how the government acquired our land.
In this regard, Deputy Divisional Engineer of Kurigram Water Development Board Rafiqul Islam said that due to the problem of land acquisition, the rest of the excavation work could not be done. The matter of cutting the soil of the embankment will be reported to the higher authorities.
Abdullah Al Mamun, Executive Engineer of Kurigram Water Development Board, said that the necessary measures to stop soil cutting will be taken now.