A site of the resetlement centres at Mawa ghat.Rishad misses his old home. In his words, his old place was full of fruit trees and dust-free. The absence of such an ambience does not make him happy.
Farhad Dhali and Sabbir, students of grade 6, miss the numerous fruit trees of their old place as well.
This trio is now the resident of Kumarbhog Resettlement Centre. The government has compensated families whose lands were acquired for constructing Padma Multi-purpose Bridge by provided them with cash and plots in resettlement centers.
On a field visit to Kumarbhog Resettlement Centre on 15 May, these correspondents saw planned afforestation in the area.
However, the adults have a different opinion. Jainal Abedin, a resident of the resettlement centre, said he is happy because now he can live near his four brothers.
“We had 50 decimals of land earlier. Here each of us got 4 decimals and also some compensation money,” he said.
“I am doing fine here. I get water supply facilities here. So what if we don’t have fruit trees here? I will buy fruits from the market for my children,” said Russell Bapary, a driver who drives his own truck now.
Russell got 7 decimals of land and Tk 34 lakh as compensation. Earlier, he had 22 decimal lands near Padma.
Shahin Matbar, a resident of Diara Naodoba resettlement centre of Shariatpur’s Jajira upazila, said they do not have power supply and sewerage lines in their area.
Another resident Hasan Matbar said waste management is a big problem there.
Auto-rickshaw driver Alamgir Mia feared he might get into trouble as he has not got the deed of his land yet.
Bakhrerkandi centre seemed more planned and organised than Diara Naodoba resettlement centre. This centre has well-constructed roads, mosque and power supply.
However, the locals have some complaints.
Requesting anonymity, few locals said some youths riding their motorbikes and claiming to be ruling party men hang out in front of a house where a girl lives in.
Harun Hawlader, 55, said the absence of a graveyard worries him.
These correspondents found that the sewerage lines are deep and without any lid.
Shahana Begum, 55, said, “My granddaughter fell off into one ditch the other day. It’s not possible to look after her all the time. We need a solution to this problem.”
The district administration of Munshiganj, Shariatpura and Madaripur have been given Tk 1070 crore for acquiring the the lands.
A total of seven resettlement centres have been set up for the affected families.
Tofazzal Hossain, an official at a resettlement centre, said among 2900 plots, a total of 1300 have been allocated while allocation of 300 others are in process.