Rajshahi Correspondent:

Five families from the Kol community in Rajshahi’s Godagari Upazila have taken refuge in a nearby bamboo grove after their homes were demolished.

The eviction took place on Monday following a court order, leaving the families homeless and living under the open sky.

They had been residing on around 0.31 hectares of land for more than two decades before excavators flattened their houses. The families managed to save only a few belongings before seeking shelter in the bamboo grove.

Godagari Upazila administrator (UNO) Faisal Ahmed said temporary arrangements were being made for the displaced families and steps were under way to rehabilitate them.

“The matter is linked to a court verdict. However, on humanitarian grounds, I have visited the site myself. The families are currently living under the open sky,” he said.

He has instructed the local union council chairman to arrange temporary shelter and initiate rehabilitation measures.

Locals said, in 2020, a man named Nazrul Islam Alamgir and his relatives filed a case claiming ownership of the land.

The assistant judge’s court later ruled in favour of the plaintiff, following which the eviction was carried out and five houses were demolished.

One of the evicted residents, Rumali Hasda, said her family had lived there since 1998, assuming the land was owned by the government.

They later learned the 0.31 hectares were recorded in the names of three members of their community: Tilak Majhi, Dinu Majhi, and Bhadu Majhi, who no longer live in the area.

Rumali claimed they had not received any prior notice of eviction, and many of their belongings and food supplies were destroyed under the debris.

Subhash Chandra Hembram, organisational secretary of the Jatiya Adivasi Parishad, visited the site and alleged the eviction was carried out using “forged documents”.

“It is inhuman to evict people who have been living there for 40 years in a single day,” he said.

In protest against the eviction, members of the Jatiya Adivasi Parishad held a human chain at Rajshahi’s Shaheb Bazar Zero Point on Tuesday morning.

Speakers at the event demanded immediate rehabilitation of the evicted families, restoration of their land rights, and a proper investigation into the incident.