No Highway Without Compensation: Human Chain by Affected People in Jhenaidah

Land and property owners formed a human chain demanding the current market price of acquired land and full compensation for damaged structures under the Jhenaidah-Jessore 47-kilometer six-lane highway construction project. More than a hundred affected owners participated in the hour-long program at the main bus stand area of Kaliganj town in Jhenaidah at 10 am on Monday. Speakers alleged that although the highway construction work has been going on for about three years, they have not received compensation yet.

Furthermore, they fear that the government is planning to pay compensation at the mouza rate of 50 years ago. They claimed that this will cause them extreme financial ruin. A land owner said, "We want the highway, we want development. But if we do not get the proper price of our ancestral land, development will bring destruction for us."

Participating in the human chain, the speakers highlighted several major demands: payment of land compensation according to the current market rate, ensuring full compensation for damaged structures, stopping additional land acquisition, avoiding unnecessary land acquisition under the flyover, and constructing alternative routes using vacant land and abandoned warehouses of the district council. They warned, "If these demands are not met, strict agitation programs will be announced in the future."

Nabachitra newspaper editor-in-chief Alhaj Shahidul Islam, Mahmud Raihan Laltu, BNP leader Tabibur Rahman Mini, Jalal Uddin, and Chhatra Dal leader Touhidul Islam Tohid, among others, spoke at the human chain. At this time, the speakers called upon the government to implement the project by ensuring the financial security of the affected people, so that development brings welfare for all, and does not become a cause of irregularity or destitution for anyone.