Consult workers before acquiring land for economic zone

Eleven professionals in a statement yesterday called upon the government to hold open consultations with tea workers before establishing an economic zone on agricultural land of Chandpur Tea Estate in Habiganj.

According to the statement, out of the tea estate's 3,951 acres of land, 951 acres are agricultural land, which have been cultivated by tea workers of the area for the last 150 years.

The signatories said their visit to the area revealed that many of the families do not have any work in the tea garden and their only source of income is the crops they produce on the agricultural land.

The land of the tea estate is owned by the government and it was leased to the tea company.

On November 21, the government transferred 115 acres out of the 951 acres of agricultural land to the Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA) to establish an economic zone there.

The statement said an injustice would be done to the tea workers and their families of Chandpur Tea Estate if the agricultural land is transferred without proper consultations with them.

Eminent economists Hossain Zillur Rahman and Prof Anu Muhammad and rights activists Hameeda Hossain and Khushi Kabir were among the signatories.