4,391 acres of railway land grabbed

A total of 4,391 acres of railway land has been grabbed so far by individuals and government, semi-government, autonomous, private, religious and educational organisations, a minister said in parliament yesterday.

Of the land, 3,378 acres have been grabbed by private organisations and individuals, Railway Minister Mujibul Haque said in reply to lawmakers' queries.

In a scripted reply, he also informed the House that another 922.34 acres have been occupied by government, semi government and autonomous organisations while more than 90.83 acres by religious and educational institutions.

The railway minister, however, did not mention the names of the grabbers.

Regarding the recovery of the grabbed land, he said the railway authorities recovered more than 132 acres of land between October 2015 and March this year.

Efforts are going on to recover the remaining land with the assistance of local representatives and local administrations, he added.

Replying to another query, Mujibul told MPs in parliament that more than twelve thousand posts, including 128 class-1 and 7,430 class-III officials' remained vacant in the railway.