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Indigenous Christian families assaulted amid land grab conflict in ...
A mob reportedly attacked a Christian village in the Birganj area of the Dinajpur Diocese injuring Indigenous Christians and Hindus and damaging property. At least six people have been injured in attacks on Indigenous Christians and Hindus in Bangladesh. Trees in a Catholic cemetery were also cut down, and a Hindu temple was destroyed in the attack. The violence took place on April 19 in the Christian village of Birganj in the area of Christ the King Catholic Church in the Birganj area of the Dinajpur Diocese in the northern part of the country. Nearly 200 Muslims were reportedly involved in the attack and used local homemade weapons such as axes, iron rods, and bamboo sticks in an attempt to steal land from Indigenous Christians and Hindus. Indigenous peoples in Bangladesh are made up of ethnic groups that are culturally and historically distinct from the Bengali majority in the country, and many happen to be Christian, Hindu, or Buddhist. “Six Indigenous were seriously injured in the attack and one was pierced by an arrow. The injured are undergoing treatment in the hospital,” Pius Murmu, a 45-year-old Catholic injured in the attack, told EWTN News. Murmu said that almost 50-60 families live in Birganj and that they have been using the land there for more than a century. In addition, more than 200 landless Indigenous families in the area use the cemetery to bury their dead and live around it. Indigenous Christian families in Birganj say they have been living on the land there for several generations. Saiful Islam, police officer in charge of the local Birganj police station, told EWTN News that there has been a long-standing dispute with members of the Indigenous community over a small parcel (93 decimals, which is .01 acres) of state-owned land. Rezaul Islam, son of Abdul Quader of the nearby village of Ghoraband, claims to own the land. According to the police officer: “On April 19, at noon, about 200 people led by Islam and his uncle Azad attacked the temple and graveyard with the intention of taking the land. They attacked the temple with sticks, rods, and sharp weapons and cut down 10-12 trees in the graveyard. A house was also vandalized during this time.” He added that when members of the Indigenous community resisted, they were beaten up and injured. Saiful Islam also said that after the police received information, they went to the spot and dispersed the attackers. Additional police were deployed to control the situation. The vandalized pro...
Land Titles for Resettled Families Soon in Enb
NEWS LAND TITLES FOR RESETTLED FAMILIES SOON IN ENB By Joshua ARLO | November 1, 2024 East New Britain (ENB) Provincial Administrator Levi Mano has assured that the provincial government will soon award land titles to the resettled people of Rabaul district, now living in the Gazelle, Kokopo, and Pomio districts. Reflecting on past efforts, Mr. Mano commended the National Lands Department’s recent delivery of nearly 200 titles to Talvat Sikut residents in Pomio, saying, "This is the final and an important part of the restoration program that was supposed to have been completed decades ago.” "We plan to do the same for Clifton - Asing, Vunakabi, Warena, and Gelagele resettlements, so we can issue titles to everybody that has lived there for 30 years." "This is the intention of the Provincial Government, and we will go in a big way in 2025,” he added. Mr. Mano confirmed preparatory work has begun to issue all titles by December 2025. Mr. Mano also thanked political leaders and community members from the three districts for accommodating the resettled families. "Let me assure our people that the provincial administration will be working around the clock to ensure that those in the other 4 major resettlements are given their land titles so that they can use it for their benefit." The ENB Provincial Government initially acquired four plantations when the National Development Bank (NDB) auctioned them in the early 1990s after leaseholders defaulted on loans. "Except for Sikut Talvat, which was already a state-owned land, where we only requested the National Land Tenders Board not to sit on that portion of land in 1994, so we could resettle our people, under a State of Emergency at that time," Mr. Mano aid. He said that people were resettled on state land but the process of land allocation was not completed until September this year, when the National Land Board gave out 199 land titles, facilitated by Prime Minister James Marape. "The other 4 resettlement areas are just plantations that we were lucky enough to purchase at that time, when they were advertised by the NDB," he said. It is estimated that a few more hundreds would be given titles, as the whole population along the caldera to coast of Kombiu LLG, were allocated blocks of land in the resettlement areas. LATEST NEWS
Hanthana land plots given to 44 disaster-hit families
A land distribution programme benefiting families displaced by disaster in the Kandy District was held on April 24 at the Kandy District Secretariat, with 44 affected households receiving plots in the Hanthana area. The initiative targeted residents of the Gangawata Korale Divisional Secretariat ...
Kerala Government Backtracks on Wayanad Housing Claim, Says Only Land ...
The Kerala government has come under scrutiny after reversing its earlier claim of handing over houses to victims of the Mundakkai-Chooralmala disaster in Wayanad. Revenue Minister K. Rajan clarified that only land titles were distributed, contradicting previous statements by the Chief Minister and CPM leaders. Earlier Facebook posts and official press releases had confirmed that 178 houses ...
