Do not acquire land used by tea garden workers: speakers

Politicians, academician and tea workers’ leaders on Wednesday called on the Awami League-led government not to acquire 511 acres of agricultural land, currently being used by the workers of two tea estates at Chunarughat in Habiganj, for setting up a special economic zone.
The tea garden workers of Chandpur and Begumkhan tea estates will suffer much if their land is taken away for constructing a Special Economic Zone by the Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority, they said.
Chandpur-Begumkhan Bhumi Rakkha Committee organised the views exchange programme at National Press Club in the city to press their demands.
Pankaj Bhattacharya, president of the Oikya NAP, said a vested group was trying to further marginalise the indigent tea garden workers by stripping of rights to cultivation.
He called on the government to keep off from setting up the SEZ in the farms.
The convener of the Parliamentary Caucus on national minorities, Fazle Hossain Badsha, said BEZA is trying to set up the economic zone on the information that the land has been vacant.
A 10-member parliamentary caucus is scheduled to visit the project site on January 19 and submit a report to prime minister Sheikh Hasina over the land, Badsha said.
Dhaka University teacher and chairperson of Research and Development Collective, Mesbah Kamal, called on the tea garden workers to stay united to resist the move.
The convener of the committee, Avirat Bakti, said the tea garden workers are low paid workforce and that they use the land to support their families.
He urged the government to fulfill their demands within January 25, before they announce tougher movements.
The former industries minister, Dilip Barua, and also the general secretary of Samyabadi Dal, said that prime minister Sheikh Hasina would not support setting up of SIZ on the farm lands.
Khalequzzaman, general secretary of the Socialist Party of Bangladesh called on the left and democratic political parties get
united to support the movements of the tea estate workers.
Chaired by Avirat Bakti, politician Ruhin Hossain Prince, Subal Sarker,   national minority leaders Sanjeeb Drong, Dipayon Khisa, tea garden workers’ leaders Nripen Paul, Mohan Rabidas, Kanchan Patra spoke, among others, at the views exchange programme.

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