Hundreds protest alleged corruption in digital land survey at Amtali

AMTALI, BARGUNA, July 4: Hundreds of farmers and landowners formed a human chain in Barguna's Amtali Upazila on Saturday, alleging widespread irregularities, corruption and bribery in the ongoing digital land survey in Kukua Union.

The hour-long demonstration was held at Mahishkata Bazar, where protesters demanded an immediate halt to the survey until the allegations are investigated.

According to the Amtali Settlement Office, the digital land survey in Kukua Union began in July 2016. Since then, landowners have repeatedly alleged that officials and employees involved in the survey accepted bribes to record land in the names of people other than the rightful owners.

Addressing the programme, speakers alleged that some officials associated with the survey were manipulating land records in exchange for money. They also claimed that single land records were being arbitrarily split into multiple records, after which landowners were asked to pay large sums to have the mistakes corrected.

The protesters alleged that no work was being completed at the settlement office without payment of bribes.

When contacted, Assistant Settlement Officer Md Habibur Rahman rejected the allegations, saying claims of bribery, corruption and irregularities were "completely false."

"No officials or employees of our office are involved in such activities," he said.

Amtali Upazila Nirbahi Officer Muhammad Jafar Arif Chowdhury said the allegations would be investigated.