Garo protest against ecotourism on their land
The authorities want to create an artificial lake in the Tangail area. “For hundreds of years, we farmed our land,” said Garo elder Ajoy Mree. “We will not leave one inch of land.” For the government, this is an opportunity for development.
Dhaka (AsiaNews) - About 300 Christian Garo held a protest on Monday against a government plan to create an artificial lake on their farmland. The Combined Indigenous Peoples organised the rally in Dokla Chorasta, Tangail.
“For hundreds of years we farmed our land,” said Ajoy Mree, a Garo elder. “The government’s Forest Department wants to drive us out of our homeland. We will not leave a one inch of land as long as we live.”
A few days ago, the Forest Department erected a signboard on Garo land that raid: ““People's Republic of Bangladesh, general entry into protected forests. Development work in progress. Ordered by authority”.
“Nobody can stop us with lawsuits and threats. We are not afraid, and we will not leave our land,” said Alik Mree, a young Christian leader during the protest.
“Our people grow and produce crops. They survive on crops and educate their children. If the government grabs this land, how will our people survive?” he added.
The Garo have lived in the Tangail area, Mymensingh Division (province) for over a hundred years.
Originally from what is now India, they have no title deeds to the land because they have always lived and farmed in the forest. This is why they often face persecution by the Forest Department.
For his part, Mohammad Sajjadujjaman, a Forest Department official, believes that the Garo are misled in this protest because the government is trying to develop the area through ecotourism.
"Although this land is owned by the government, we wanted to give money instead of land where Garo farmers grow crops but they disagreed.”
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28/07/2023 18:15
