Pabna, Oct 6 (V7N) – Landowners and farmers from both banks of the Ichamati River in Pabna formed a human chain on Monday, demanding compensation for damages caused by the dumping of excavated soil from the river dredging project onto their private croplands and residential areas.

The hour-long demonstration took place in front of the Pabna Deputy Commissioner’s Office, where affected residents of Goyeshpur and Ekdanta unions under Pabna Sadar upazila staged a protest and later submitted a memorandum to the district administration.

Protesters alleged that during the implementation of the “Ichamati River Restoration Project,” soil dredged from the river by a contractor under the supervision of the Bangladesh Army was piled along both banks — on privately owned agricultural fields, fruit orchards, and near homesteads. They claimed that the prolonged storage of soil has damaged fertile farmland, disrupted crop cycles, and caused structural damage to several thousand houses.

Residents further alleged that some of the stored soil is now being sold for commercial purposes, compounding their losses. “We have suffered once when the soil was dumped on our lands, and now we are being harmed again as that same soil is being sold,” said several affected landowners. They urged the district administration, the Water Development Board, and the Prime Minister to ensure fair financial compensation for their losses.

Among those who addressed the protest were District Krishak Dal President Abul Hashem and affected landowners Ashraful Islam, Mahbubur Rahman, Abdul Majid, Azhar Ali, Abdul Rashid, Shamsul Islam, and Salim Uddin.

Following the demonstration, the protesters handed over a memorandum to Pabna Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Mofizur Rahman, who assured them that the administration would take necessary steps to resolve the issue after a proper investigation.

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