Influential people have been accused of cutting down 800 mango trees in an orchard belonging to Abul Hossain, 50, a fruit trader, in Patnitala, Naogaon. The trader held a press conference in protest.

He spoke at the town's Parimohan Library at noon on 27 September.

Abul Hossain's business is called Dewan Enterprise. He is the son of Niraj Uddin Dewan of Jalembar mahalla in Savar, Dhaka.

In a written statement at the press conference, he said that 12 years ago, through a business friend, he bought 4.32 acres of land for Tk 60 lakh from Goutam Ghosh and Mitali Rani Ghosh, the son and daughter of the late Gopendranath Ghosh of Ghoshpara village in Patnitala upazila. After buying the land, in Chhaligram mouza of Patichora union, he planted a mango orchard. The orchard, which he had sharecropped out, began bearing BARI-4 mangoes four years ago and had been earning him at least Tk 10 lakh a season. Then on 15 September Naim Hossain of East Patichora village and his two brothers, Lemon Hossain and Chhelim Hossain, entered the orchard with 15-20 people armed with local weapons and cut down more than 800 mango trees.

Abul Hossain said he had planned to meet household costs from mango sales and save for his children's future. With the orchard cleared, he faces a loss of about Tk 1 crore. Taking advantage of the fact that he lives in Dhaka and is busy with business, the attackers are trying to extort a large sum from him, he said. He has complained to the police but has had no remedy, and demanded a prompt investigation and legal action against those involved.

His son Shafiullah Dewan and nephew Shovon Shahariar were present at the press conference.

Naim Hossain told Jago News: "The land where the mango trees were cut is legally owned in our name. In 1991 the government leased the land to my landless family, and it has since been mutated and registered as a holding in our names. Abul Hossain's allegation is false and baseless. Although he is not the real owner, he is using his influence to try to seize our land by force."

Confirming the incident, Enayetur Rahman, officer-in-charge (OC) of Patnitala police station, told Jago News that the police had tried several times to settle the matter but failed. The trader has since filed a case in court, and action will be taken according to the court's directions.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.