100 families evicted for Ashrayan project

The families, after being homeless by erosion, had taken shelter on the newly emerged shoal few years back, the victims and sources in the upazila administration said.

They were paying land revenue. Dumki upazila administration last year decided to set up an Ashrayan project on the land and stopped receiving the land revenue from the villagers.

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Abdul Maleq Khan, one of the people who took shelter on the shoal, then filed a case on February 27 with a court in Patuakhali accusing six persons including the Patuakhali Deputy Commissioner, Dumki Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) and Angaria Union Parishad chairman.

The case is pending dispodal by the court.

On Wednesday, the UNO with the help of police evicted them from the land.

When contacted UNO Ranajit Kumar said, "We have taken up a plan to set up an Ashrayan project on the government land. Some local people are trying to occupy the lands".