DINAJPUR: Hordes of affected locals Monday laid an indefinite siege to Barapukuria coalmine amid a rowdy demonstration to realize compensation for the homesteads and farmlands they lost.

Witnesses said the demonstrators also enforced road-rail blockade piling up logs on the Dhaka-Dinajpur highway and the Phulbari-Parbatipur section of railway, cutting off communications on both the routes through the country’s remote northern part.          

Hundreds of inhabitants of 11 villages started the scheduled demonstrations at about 11am under the banner of ‘Jibon O Sompad Rokkha Committee (JOSRC)’, a forum of the affected people, calling for the Barapukuria Coal Mine Company Limited (BCMCL) to pay the overdue dues.    

The affected villages include Barapukuria, Kalupara, Bolorampur, Badyanathpur and Moupukur.

A huge contingent of police has been deployed in and around the coal-mining area to avert any untoward incident during the mass protests.

Ibrahim Khalil, convener of the organization, told banglanews24.com.bd, “The mining authority is delaying compensation payments in the name of survey. The movement will continue if our compensations are not paid immediately.”

Earlier on July 12, the JOSRC placed a memorandum with the company authorities demanding compensation to be given by July 18. It had also announced a plan to hold ‘gheraw’ programme on July 19 if the demand was not met by the deadline.

The affected people of the coalmine areas have carried out their movement for two years. They staged a three-day hunger strike last March. The strike was called off on March 10, as the mine management assured them of paying compensation. But it is yet to be implemented, reports the banglanews24.com.bd
district correspondent.

But another organization, Barapukuria Bhumi O Sompad Rakkha Committee (BBSRC), did not join in the squatting around the mine and on the traffic routes.

Mashiur Rahman, a leader of BBSRC, said, “The authorities are surveying the area to determine the amounts of compensation. We are not against mining. We will cooperate with the mining authorities if they carry out their work informing the affected people about the compensation as well as rehabilitation.”

Despite trying several times, the correspondent could not reach Md Kamruzzaman, managing director of BCMCL, who had assured earlier of giving the compensation to the affected villagers after the survey.

A 10-member team led by a magistrate has been conducting the survey since July 8.

BDST: 1520 HRS, JULY 19, 2010