'Landless should unite to ensure right to khas land'

They also called on the landless to unite to establish their right to khas land.

Samata, a non-government organisation, organised the discussion on 'Accelerating khas land distribution among the landless' in cooperation with Dhaka divisional administration at Biam auditorium in the city.

Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, principal secretary to the prime minister, said the landless people should be organised in asserting their rights to khas land.

The unity of the landless can force the land grabbers, who are usually influential people in society, out of khas lands, he said.

He also called on the NGOs to raise awareness among the landless in this regard.

Shamsul Huda, executive director of Association for Land Reform and Development, called on the government officials concerned to take measures to protect the lands of ethnic minorities.

Farida Akhter, executive director of Ubinig, said the poor people should fight not only against the local land grabbers, but also against the evil designs of the multinational companies trying to control agricultural activities.

Murtuza Hossain Munshi, chairman of Land Reform Board, said, "In most cases, we allocate khas land to the landless people, but they either sell it to the influential people or lose control of the land due to poverty and other reasons."

Md Alimusshan, commissioner of Dhaka Division, said co-ordinated efforts of the government and non-government organisations can help eradicate poverty from the country.

Niaz Hossain Mia, president of Krishak Federation, said a uniform map system should be introduced to help upzila, district and divisional level committees take decisions regarding khas land in order to protect the lands from encroachers.

Executive Director of Samata Md Abdul Kader chaired the discussion while Samata Director Sohel Ibn Ali, Chairman of Land Co-ordinating Committee Md Afzal Hossain, District Commissioner of Munshiganj Hanif Uddin Manju, President of Karmojibi Nari Shirin Akhter and Rekha Chowdhury of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad also spoke.