& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

UTTARA PROJECT

Houses damaged as govt still undecided on allotment

OUR CORRESPONDENT, Nilphamari •
The authorities are still in a dilemma
regarding allotment of houses in the Uuttara Housing Project in Syedpur, the largest such project in the country for the poor, completed seven
months ago.
Meanwhile several houses, damaged by tornado in May, are yet to be repaired.
The entire area has been covered with bushes for lack of maintenance. Walls of several houses have developed cracks and some tubewells stolen, sources there said.
At night, the project area turns into a criminals' den. A few policemen deployed there can not look after it, they said.
When contacted, ADC (revenue) Alifuddin Ahmed told this correspondent that a team of engineers from Dhaka recently visited the project area to see the damage.
The housing project is now a deciding factor in Syedpur politics, local people and politicians said.
The ruling BNP, which own the last parliament election, lost in the recent municipal polls because government officials here said the houses would be allotted only to Biharis (nonBengalee people). This reduced votes by Bangalees in the municipal polls, they said. Over two lakh Biharis live in Syedpur.
In the last one year, several clashed took place in Syedpur as both Bangalees and Biharis are demanding houses.
The ADC said the houses will be allotted as per the govern-
ment gazette of May 12, 1997,
not according to the list prepared by the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO).
The gazette says freedom fighters, victims of erosion and land acquisition, distressed woman and landless people are eligible to apply for allotment.
The project comprising 100 barracks each having 10 houses, a market, a mosque, a community centre and all other facilities, was built at a cost of Tk 4 crore under army supervision. After completion, the army handed over the project to the district administration.