Cancel wildlife sanctuary declaration in Sangu mouza

CHT DESK

Around 550 families of 13 indigenous and Bengali neighborhoods will be evicted if the declaration for Sangu Wildlife Sanctuary is implemented on 5,760 acres of land in Sangu mouza under Lama Upazila of Bandarban. The people of the area are now living in fear of eviction. The decision to implement the declaration from Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change must be canceled immediately.

The victims of different remote paras of Sangu mouza urged this on Wednesday at Bandarban press club area in a protest rally.

Later they gave a memorandum to the Prime Minister through the Deputy Commissioner of Bandarban.

The speakers also said that the people of the area had to live in fear of land grabbers before the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord. Now they are facing eviction threat from their land due to the wildlife sanctuary activities of the forest department.

They also said that according to the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regulation 1900, the three hill districts have been divided into 376 mouzas or units for the convenience of land management. Headman of the mouzas served as the unit head. Before any kind of land settlement, purchase, sale, transfer, lease, reserve forest area and sanctuary declaration in mouza there is a legal requirement of prior permission from the headman. But the headman’s opinion was not taken and communicated with the villagers of the area before the declaration of Sangu Wildlife Sanctuary in the area.

In 2010, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change declared five thousand 760 acres of land in Sangu mauza as a wildlife sanctuary for conservation of flora, fauna and nature of protected forest and development of tourism facilities. After a long time, the forest department started implementing this project added the victims.

Hlathowai Hri Marma, president of Headman Karbari Kalyan Parishad, Changpat Mro, Headman of Sangu Mouza, Tonya Mro, joint-general secretary of Bangladesh Mro Students associatiom, and Ukyamong Marma, spoke among others.