Houses damaged as govt still undecided on allotment

Some of houses at Uttara Housing Project damaged by a recent tornado. PHOTO: STAR

Meanwhile several houses, damaged by tornado in May, are yet to be repaired.

The entire area has been covered with bushes for lack of maintenance. Walls of several houses have developed cracks and some tubewells stolen, sources there said.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

At night, the project area turns into a criminals' den. A few policemen deployed there can not look after it, they said.

When contacted, ADC (revenue) Alifuddin Ahmed told this correspondent that a team of engineers from Dhaka recently visited the project area to see the damage.

The housing project is now a deciding factor in Syedpur politics, local people and politicians said.

The ruling BNP, which own the last parliament election, lost in the recent municipal polls because government officials here said the houses would be allotted only to Biharis (non-Bengalee people). This reduced votes by Bangalees in the municipal polls, they said. Over two lakh Biharis live in Syedpur.

In the last one year, several clashed took place in Syedpur as both Bangalees and Biharis are demanding houses.

The ADC said the houses will be allotted as per the government gazette of May 12, 1997, not according to the list prepared by the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO).

The gazette says freedom fighters, victims of erosion and land acquisition, distressed woman and landless people are eligible to apply for allotment.

The project comprising 100 barracks each having 10 houses, a market, a mosque, a community centre and all other facilities,

was built at a cost of Tk 4 crore under army supervision. After completion, the army handed over the project to the district administration.