Lathitila (Karimganj), Aug. 7: Villagers of Lathitila and Dumabari have threatened to resort to a movement demanding compensation for the land that finally went to Bangladesh on July 31 midnight on the basis of the land-swap agreement.
Nearly 22 families from both Lathitila and Dumabari, bordering Bangladesh, in Karimganj district of Assam, are affected by the land-exchange agreement signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina on June 6 in Dhaka.
Ramsundar Goala, a resident of Lathitila, told The Telegraph here today that his 126 bighas of land had gone to Bangladesh. "I have been paying revenue against my plot of land for many decades to the Assam government. But, the India# government handed over our land to Bangladesh without consulting us. We have also not received any sort of compensation from the government," he said.
Goala said their forefathers lived on that plot of land for several years.
"When the movement for the independence of Bangladesh got momentum and the situation turned volatile along the border in Karimganj, we came to Lathitila and settled here in 1965. But after the demarcation of land boundary in 1971, the people of Bangladesh started living on our plot of land. Gradually, they occupied the entire area and settled there. But we continue to pay the land revenue at Patharkandi circle office in Karimganj," he added.
Most of the villagers of Lathitila and Dumabari work in Putni tea estate, whose management had earlier claimed that they would also lose land with the implementation of the land-swap agreement.
Anwar Hussain, a resident at Dumabari, today showed a receipt of the land revenue that he had paid against 123 bighas of land now under the possession of Bangladesh.
"We paid taxes while they enjoyed the ownership. But, now it is final. Our land has finally gone to Bangladesh and we did not receive any compensation from the government. It is really very unfortunate," he added.
Lathitila and Dumabari, the two neighbouring villages on the international border with Bangladesh, are 60km from Karimganj town, the district headquarters of Karimganj, and 115km from Silchar, the district headquarters of Cachar.
The villagers today took a dig at the BJP-led government at the Centre for its "lackadaisical attitude" towards them.
"The BJP is completely exposed. Even two years back, senior BJP leaders came here to hoist the national flag. At that time, they met us and promised that they would fight till their last breath to oppose transfer of land to Bangladesh. But, today these leaders are silent," said Ananta Goala, a senior citizen of the area.
According to the villagers, they have lost around 1,500 bighas of land in the Lathitila and Dumabari areas.
"We have no options left. Despite our repeated requests and representations to the Indian government, no action has been taken and all pleas have fallen on deaf ears. We have unanimously decided to launch a movement if we are not compensated by the government," said Omiram Bhar, a villager of Lathitila.
Karimganj deputy commissioner Sanjib Gohain Baruah said: "I have not been told by the government whether any compensation will be given to them or not."
