At least 170 new houses have popped up on both sides of the Bonpara-Dashuria highway in Muladuli of Ishwardi upazila on Roads and Highways Department land.

The occupiers have set up a mosque, and a temple and named the area Dilunagar after Land Minister Shamsur Rahman Sharif Dilu who is from the area.

The occupiers have named the mosque “Dilunagar Jannatul Ferdous” and the temple, “Dilunagar Shib Kali Mandir”.

A group of extremely poor people, backed by local ruling party leaders, made shelters on the sides of the highway with corrugated iron sheets, sources said.

“Although this is a piece of government land, but there is no problem in setting up a mosque because hundreds of Muslim residents here need a mosque,” said Moulana Nazrul Islam, imam of the mosque.

The temple was constructed for the Hindu community because of the necessity of the residents and to make their homes permanent, the Imam said.

Around 200 persons from different villages of Muladuli and Dashuria unions have moved to Dilunagar with permission from Muladuli Union Parishad Chairman Selim Uddin Malitha.

“The chairman allows us to live on the government land free of cost. I got an allotment of two katha of land free,” Ramesh Kumar, a resident of Dilunagar, told The Daily Star.

“I have built a tiny house and live with my family.”

Photo: Star

Muladuli Union Parishad Chairman Selim said the area along the highway from Dashuria to Muladuli was deserted and highway robbery was common there.

According to the wishes of the people, the extremely poor have been settled there, he claimed. “Now that people live beside the highway, criminals do not dare to commit crimes.”

The chairman also said the people were extremely happy to have new homes and they have named the area Dilunagar.

The people living in Dilunagar feel happy although living right next to the highway was unsafe. “We were homeless but now we have a new shelter in Dilunagar. We are happy with our homes,” said Dulal Mollah.

The residents said the houses were built over the last few months and 40 to 50 more were to be built soon.

Tuhin Al Mamun, sub-divisional engineer of Roads and Highways Department, Pabna, said they served several notices on the squatters and one on the Muladuli Union Parishad chairman in 2014, asking him to remove the squatters.

A mosque and a temple have also been set up, in the place now touted as Dilunagar, named after Land Minister Shamsur Rahman Sharif Dilu who is from the area. Photo: Star

Chairman Selim in response wrote to the department claiming that he had nothing to do with the squatters and that there was no problem in evicting the illegal occupiers.

Tuhin said an eviction drive would be conducted at an appropriate time.

“We are concerned about the squatting and legal procedures would be followed,” he said.

The Ishwardi upazila assistant commissioner (Land) said if the Roads and Highways [Department] did not officially inform the upazila administration about the squatting, they would not be able to go for an eviction.

As to why he wrote the letter to the Roads and Highways Department, chairman Selim reaffirmed that he had nothing to do with the squatters and the authorities should do what was right.

Contacted, Land Minister Shamsur Rahman Sharif Dilu told The Daily Star he was unaware of any place called Dilunagar and he knew nothing about it.

Building any structure within 10 metres of the highway is illegal, according to the Pabna Roads and Highways executive engineer Mofazzal Hyder.