Owning a jungle, illegally

Two days after a landslide killed five people in Sitakunda, the upazila administration has filed a report, mentioning that two associations of locals are illegally controlling 822.92 acres of khas land (government-owned).

The land was created after razing 45 hills, some of them completely, in Jungle Salimpur, a hilly jungle area in Sitakunda. The associations are Chattagram Mahanagar Chhinnamul Bastibasi Sangram Samannay Parishad and Alinagar Samabay Samiti Ltd.

Jungle Salimpur houses 10,950 families and is split into two zones -- Chhinnamul with 8,950 families and Alinagar with 2,000. Of the 45 hills, 42 fall in Chhinnamul and three in Alinagar area. On Friday, a landslide in Chhinnamul area killed five people of a family.

At a meeting on July 10, the upazila administration was asked to file the report to help rehabilitate the risky hill dwellers in Jungle Salimpur. Yesterday, the upazila administration submitted the report. The Daily Star obtained a copy of the report.