April 29, 2011
THE army is alleged to be plotting to capture approximately 25 acres of land belonging to Jumma people in Noapara under Tholipara Mouza in Mahalchari.
Sources said repeated visits to the area by a group of army personnel from Mahalchari zone on Thursday and Friday raised concerns among the Jumma villagers that the army might be eying to grab their lands.
The army was accompanied by a group of settlers during the visits, the sources added.
“We fear that the settlers may come to capture our land anytime.” a villager told chtnews.com on condition of anonymity.
“The army came yesterday along with some Bengali settlers and had had a look at the area.” he said and added, “Today they came twice – at 9am and at 3pm”.
According to him, some 21 Jumma (Marma) families live near the land the settlers are allegedly eying to capture.
These families have been using that land for growing vegetables and for other purposes for the last six decades.
However, in 1985 and 1986, the government made attempts to settle some Bengali settler families on that piece of land. But as the Jummas intensified their protest the attempt ultimately failed.
Since then, the settlers have been claiming the land to be their own, Kala Chand Chowdhury, headman of Tholipara, said.
The Jumma villagers fear that if the settlers make renewed attempts now to capture the land, they would have no other alternatives than to fight back.
“We are driven to the wall; so it is a do or die battle for us.” a Jumma villager said.
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source: chtnews.com
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