School land recovered from grabbers in Bogra

A piece of land of Phulbari Govt Primary School in Shariakandi upazila was recovered recently from the clutches of land grabbers after around 50 years, much to the relief of locals, teachers and students of the school.

Dil Afroz of an affluent family at Phulbari union of the upazila had donated 18 decimal land to the school in 1955. A few years later, the land was grabbed allegedly by the then president of the school's management committee, said locals.

The land grabber's sons built four shops there around 15 years ago and rented out those to local traders. The school is some 25 km off Bogra town.

As the grabbers recently started digging the ground there for building a multi-storied structure, the school authorities informed Phulbari Union Parishad member Jahabul Islam about the matter.

On February 16, the school's management committee with the help of local people removed all the furniture from the shops and regained possession of the land. The authorities are already holding classes in three rooms which were previously used as shops.

Talking to The Daily Star, fifth grader Shima Parvin said they can now attend classes comfortably in the new space. The school's four classrooms were not enough for 510 students.

Local resident Khorshed Alam said the shops were hampering educational activities at the school. Free from the shops, there is no sound pollution in the area now, he added.

Anjuman Ara, head mistress of the school, said she was frustrated that the school was not in possession of its land for so long. Her mother-in-law had donated the land to the school.

She hoped the school would achieve better results in future as it is now operating in a bigger space.