Alam Masud
Bangladesh authorities are moving in undue haste to built the broad way corridor for India connecting Chittagong sea port and the inland river port of Ashuganj for carrying huge cargo consignments to India’s northeast states.
The expansion of Dhaka-Chittagong highway to four- lane is going on in full swing causing much trouble to commuters with a slow movement of traffic along the nation’s busiest route.
Meanwhile, the development works of Agartola-Akhaura road and rail line are also moving fast ignoring local protests. People of the locality are finding it difficult to protect their land and homestead which have been earmarked for government acquisition. During Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to New Delhi in January 2010, India and Bangladesh had agreed to develop Akhaura – Agartala rail link.
BNP’s surprising apathy
However, the people of the locality were utterly surprised to see the BNP-led 20 party alliance remaining silent about Akhaura-Agartala rail transit, although they had earlier announced that they would shed blood to stop transit. Even none of the local leaders of the alliance stood beside people of Akhaura who have been protesting fearing unnecessary land acquisition.
Residents of the areas are in panic because their land has been earmarked for the project. They fear acquisition of valuable agricultural land as well as their ancestral homesteads and mosques, graveyards and market places.
The affected areas include western part of Mogra Bazar, northern part of Maniandha, Goaal Gangail, Gopalpur, Bara Gangail, Tonki, Baghai Mura,Tulaishimul, Minarkut, Shibnagar and others, local sources said.
Local people complained that the proposed alignment selected for Agartala-Akhaura rail link in Brahmanbaria district has ignored land interest of Bangladesh. It is yet to be decided whether Bangladesh would get any commission or benefit by allowing the corridor facility to India.
The proposed rail line alignment disregarded the policy of economic use of land and protecting fertile agricultural land (two to three crops annually) in a densely populated country like Bangladesh. It may be convenient for the Indian side getting a straight rail line from Agartala to Gangasagar.
But it has opened the door to acquisition of huge private land and eviction of the people. The project will affect hundreds of families who are now in fear of being uprooted from their ancestral homesteads and agricultural land for a10-km long rail track and other infrastructure for India’s benefit.
GOB preferring longer route
People of Mogra and Maniandha union, meanwhile, expressed their concern regarding the possible land acquisition and gave separate memorandum to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Advocate Anisul Huq , who is also local MP. But panic is prevailing in the locality as people are in darkness about the progress of the project. Local people, meanwhile, organized rallies and formed human chain several times in this regard to draw attention of the authorities concerned.
Tripura border is at a stone throwing distance from Kasba rail station while from Azampur, the Agartala border, is also at a short distance. Despite that the government has allowed India a 15-km long rail link from Agartala via Gangasagar to Akhaura, which will need huge land acquisition in Bangladesh side. The Indian government has a plan to extend railway towards south from Agartala to Subroom (opposite to Ramgarh, Bangladesh) which will be implemented very soon. In that case, rail link from Kasba to Agartala could be more economic for Bangladesh. Subroom is 70 km from Chittagong Port.
While talking to this correspondent local people said “We do not know actually which alignment will be final, even local public representatives like union chairman or upazila chairman know very little about the project, everything has been conducting centrally in a mysterious manner.”
“We are not against rail link with Agartala, but it should not misuse Bangladesh’s land, destroy agriculture fields, century old market, buildings and houses as well. Population density, their livelihood and availability of land everything should be taken into consideration before implementing such international project” they added.
National interest being ignored
According to the proposed alignment, a 15-km new rail line to be set up from Agartala to Akhaura. Of which 10 km is in Bangladesh side from border line to straight westward to Gangasagar and then to Akhaura.
The track laying work of Agartala-Akhaura rail link will begin very soon. The third meeting of the joint committee held in Agartala on last June asserted this. The Bangladesh delegation attended the meeting was headed by joint secretary of the Ministry of Railway Sunil Chandra Pal while the Indian delegation was led by Ministry of External Affairs joint secretary Alok K Sinha. Fourth meeting of the committee is expected to be held in Dhaka in December next. An eleven member Project Steering Committee (PSC) has been working to implement the Rs. 252 crore mega-project for establishing railway connectivity.
Agartala rail link is a national issue and not a local one, thus it should be addressed protecting national interest at first by selecting proper alignment saving valuable land in Bangladesh. Moreover, it is not clear whether it is a rail link between the two Indian states West Bengal and Tripura or Bangladesh will be linked with Northeast Indian States as well as neighbouring countries like Myanmar, China, Bhutan and Nepal for expanding international trade in this region.
After visiting the spots it was found that although Kasba and Azampur two rail stations in Brahmanbaria district are very close to Indian (Tripura) border but the government is going to establish the proposed Akhaura-Agartala rail link through Gangasagar, about five kilometer west from Agartala, which will need huge areas of land acquisition in Bangladesh.
People dislike the project
According to the MoU signed between the two countries on February 16, 2013 three additional loop lines will be set up at Gangasagar railway station in addition to the present rail lines. It has created panic in adjacent Mogra Bazar localities whether the loop lines will occupy the hundred year old market or not.
The existence of the Mogra Bazar will be at stake if any attempt is made to extend such land acquisition up to the Bazar area the western part of which is full of century old buildings including temple, mosque, union parishad office, markets and residential houses. The Bazar should be protected at any cost. Huge vacant land is available on the southern part of Gangasagar rail station for setting up such railway infrastructure, local people said. Earlier last year, red marking in different houses by a railway survey team created panic in Mogra Bazar.
The construction of Ashuganj- Laksam double rail line is also under process now in Gangasagar area.
Tripura has few people with vast hilly land while Brahmanbaria has dense population with few lands. Population density of Brahmanbaria district is 1,590 persons per sq km while it is only 350 persons in Tripura.
Source: Weekly Holiday
