IGP funds graveyard, mosque for river erosion victims in Lakshmipur
The public graveyard is to be handed over to locals within this month
Around 10,000 river erosion victims in Lakshmipur are being provided a public graveyard and mosque built with funding provided by Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr Benazir Ahmed.
"The public graveyard will be handed over to locals within this month in the presence of senior police officials," said Md Anwar Hossain, deputy inspector general (DIG) of Chattogram range police, after inspecting progress in construction of the graveyard on Saturday.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Lakshmipur Police Superintendent Dr Md Kamruzzaman and other senior police officials were present at that time.
IGP Benazir Ahmed initiated providing a graveyard for the river erosion victims after reading a report published on 3 September, 2020, in The Business Standard (TBS) with the headline "10,000 river erosion victims worried about burying the dead".
Right away, on instructions of the IGP, Lakshmipur police took steps to purchase land for the graveyard, and very soon 29.5 decimal land was purchased in Char Mansa village of Bhabaniganj union in Laxmipur Sadar upazila.
The land was filled with soil and the boundary walls were erected. A mosque has been built next to the graveyard with a washroom for ritual bathing of the dead. The unpaved path to the graveyard has also been paved with bricks and a steering committee of locals will look after the graveyard.
About half of Ramgati and Kamalnagar upazilas in Lakshmipur have been devoured by the Meghna River. Around 10,000 people who lost their land to the river have taken shelter beside the Ramgati-Lakshmipur Road, in an area stretching from Bhabaniganj to Torabganj.
If anyone from these families dies, there is no graveyard to bury the dead.
According to locals, sometimes after the janaza, relatives guard the body for several hours lacking a burial place.
To address this problem, at the initiative of local youths Md Mahfuzur Rahman and Abdur Rahman, 40 youths formed an organisation called "Bhumihin Ganokabar O Samaj Seba Sangstha". They raised about Tk1 lakh with a monthly subscription of Tk100 to buy land for a graveyard. After their initiative was reported in TBS, a public graveyard and a mosque have now been set up by the IGP.
