Evicted Santals want to reap, harvest their paddy after looting of other products

Santals in Gaibandha's Gobindaganj want to reap and harvest the paddy they cultivated before being evicted.

They have already lost pulse, mustard and jute on 800 acres of the 1840 acres to looters during the fatal eviction.

Rangpur Sugar Mill, which acquired the land to cultivate sugarcane, has fenced the land with barbed wire after the eviction on Oct 30.

Now the Santals are not allowed to enter the land to harvest their paddy on a 100-acre land, Elima Tudu of Madarpur village told bdnews24.com on Wednesday.

They are staying under the open sky at the yard of a local church now.

The authorities used tractors to level their houses torched in attacks during the eviction on Nov 6. At least three tribesmen died in police firing.

Filimon Baske, a vice-president of the Committee to Recover Sahebganj Sugarcane Farm Land, alleged the pulse, mustard and jute were looted even though police were guarding the land.

"Now the Santals will have to be given the opportunity to harvest the paddy. The grains will overripe if we don't reap them within 10 to 12 days," he said.

The mill's Deputy General Manager Alamgir Hossain has said the authorities are yet to decide who will reap and harvest the paddy.

Bhupen Mardi, a member of the committee, said 16 shallow well pumps and nine power tillers were also looted.

"Most of those were hired. Now the poor Santals have been robbed of sleep as they fret about paying the owners back," he said.

He claimed the Santals suffered a loss of more than Tk 10 million due to the eviction.

The Santal students of Sahebganj Sugarcane Farm Primary School have stopped going to the institution after the Nov 6 attack.

On Wednesday, the authorities and Santal leaders took 36 of them to the school.

The school's Headmaster Abdul Baki Sarker said 60 Santal students study in his institution.

"I've spoken to the families of the other 24 students. They will also come on Thursday," he said.