Special Correspondent Parbatipur (Dinajpur).
Due to indifference, negligence, lack of proper supervision and proper management of the railway authorities, two-thirds of the 1,450 houses of railway officials and employees in Parbatipur are occupied by outsiders. Even if the wealth of thousands of crores of rupees has become immense, no one has a headache. Political leaders, people’s representatives, government employees, school-college-madrasa teachers, freedom fighters, police, journalists, drug dealers and smugglers are living in these houses illegally.
Offices of various NGOs, Kilder Garten School, Madrasa have been established. Forgetting the party-like path when occupying the railway house, everyone is united. Some of the devastated areas have become safe havens for anti-social activities, drug traffickers, smugglers and various criminals. It is learned that there are 1,450 units of houses in seven colonies for the accommodation of railway officials and employees in Parbatipur municipal area. They are 163 units in Haldibari Colony, 36 units in Babupara, 18 units in Saheb Para, 138 units in Rahmatnagar, 321 units in Power House Colony, 6 units in Islampur and 162 units in New Colony. People of all walks of life have been living illegally in 910 houses in seven colonies, including all the Haldibari colonies, for ages. However, according to several railway officials working in Parbatipur, there are illegal occupants in at least one thousand houses. Occasionally there is a change of hands in these homes. There were also incidents of loss of life in the clashes.
Juba Dal leader Rabiul Islam Babul was killed in a clash between two parties in 2013 over the occupation of MS / 1-C house in New Colony. The vacant space around the house is also now being illegally occupied. A number of railway officials and illegal occupants, who did not want to be named, said that when a railway employee left home, some local touts managed the IW office for large sums of money and picked up outsiders. GRP-security forces also have to be managed. Most of the houses on the railway are completely uninhabitable. Those who are there are living by renovating their houses at the cost of thousands of rupees. Otherwise, even the bricks of these houses could not be found. They said they wanted to stay legally with the lease. Parbatipur IW-Works Office Senior Deputy Assistant Engineer (SSE) in charge of supervising the railway house. Tahidul Islam denied the allegations and said that 50 units have completely collapsed as these houses built a hundred years ago have not been repaired for a long time.
Marked as 800 damages. However, no damage was declared. People from various walks of life including railway employees are living in the houses illegally. 540 houses are legally occupied by railway officials and employees. He said, who will rescue the house? Railway officials do not want to stay because the fare is high. In Parbatipur, where one can rent a modern flat of one unit with three rooms for 7/8 thousand rupees, the rent of a dilapidated railway house is 12/13 thousand rupees. Moreover, it is not possible to seal the houses of large areas with less manpower by freeing them from illegal occupation. Assistant Executive Engineer (AEN) Abu Zafar. Rakib Hasan said- recently a raid was carried out to find out the condition of the houses. Many homes are completely damaged.
The ones that are a bit better will be repaired and made suitable for the railway staff to stay with the family. Illegal occupants are being evicted from these houses. The eviction drive will begin soon. Parbatipur Upazila Parishad Chairman and Upazila Awami League President. Hafizul Islam Pramanik said that crores of rupees of railway assets are being wasted in this way but the concerned authorities are not interfering. If the houses cannot be maintained by the railways, then even if they are leased in the name of illegal occupants, the revenue will be crores of rupees a year. He said the house rent or lease should be determined according to the local market. The value of land in Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Khulna and Rajshahi and the value of land in Parbatipur is no more.
