In 1972, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman allotted 33 acres of land for squatters and displaced people in Mujgunni area of Khulna city to reside there.

Back then, the land was largely an abandoned wetland on the outskirts of the city, where the people gradually built settlements over the years. Eventually the area came to be known as Bastuhara Colony.

At present, around 15,000 people from at least three generations are living in the colony. However, they have no permanent land document for their allotments of 450 square feet space for each family.

Apart from the residential establishments, there is a government primary school, an MPO-affiliated secondary school, four mosques, a madrasa and an orphanage in the colony.

Most residents of the colony are low-income people who live hand-to-mouth, working in informal professions such as hawkers, small traders, and day laborers, among others.

Even after more than 50 years, the land has yet to be permanently allotted to the settlers, despite their repeated plea for permanent registration of their plots at nominal value or symbolic value.

Abdur Razzak, a resident of the colony, said without permanent allotment of land, they are being unable to build the structures as per requirement.

"My seven-member family lives in a shabby tin-shed house. In monsoon, almost all belongings get drenched in rain as I could not build any concrete structure while the family continues to grow. If I go to bank for home loan, they want permanent land document, which I cannot produce,'' he added.

Sabur Mollah, 76, who came from Bakerganj of Barishal with five family members, have been living in the colony since 1972. The extended family members have grown in number to 23 and are now living in two plots.

"How many people can live in a 10-12 feet room? This is the reality of almost families who live here, with their allotted lands yet to be registered to their names,'' he said.

"If we could afford, we would have purchased land or settle anywhere else in the city. Unfortunately, we do not have the ability to buy land elsewhere as it is too expensive,'' he expressed frustration.

On September 12, 1998, the then prime minister Sheikh Hasina announced to initiate the registration of plots to the residents of Bastuhara Colony at a public meeting there. Although the registration process was started, it stopped after the government changed in 2001.

Later, in 2013, former state minister for labour and employment Begum Mannujan Sufian, Khulna City Corporation mayor Talukder Abdul Khaleque, and then chairman of the Housing Authority pledged to resume the registration process for the colony and rename it as "Bangabandhu Nagar".

Accordingly, an 8-member survey committee consisting of the representatives of the state minister, KCC, deputy commissioner of Khulna, Housing Authority, and Bastuhara Colony Registration Committee was formed to carry out the on-site survey.

The committee prepared a list of 1,502 families living in the colony through field survey and submitted a report. However, no progress was made since then.

Before allotting the land, Bangabandhu had pledged in this regard at an electioneering rally in 1970 at Khulna Circuit House ground.

Under his direction, the process of development and allotment registration of Bastuhara Colony began 1972 onwards, but later stopped after his assassination.

Visiting the colony recently, this correspondent observed that almost all structures are tin-shed houses in a congested, shabby, and dilapidated condition, where poor, working class people are living in a precarious state.

Lack of drainage and sewerage facilities turned the environment largely unhygienic, while almost of the area remains submerged under rain water in monsoon.

"Khulna's Bastuhara Colony is home to the city's marginalised people. It is unfortunate that they are yet to get permanent allotment of their lands," said Prof Anwarul Kadir, an educationist and civil society member in Khulna.

Contacted, KCC mayor Talukder Abdul Khaleque said, "I have been trying to settle the issue consulting with the authorities concerned. The minister for housing and public works had also visited the colony and assured us of completing the registration process."