Hill Voice, 13 June 2026, Khagrachari: It has been alleged that three new camps of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) are being set up in Logang and Chengi unions of Panchari upazila of Khagrachari by encroaching on the land of local Jummas. Local sources said that the activities to set up these camps are underway under the supervision of Khagrachari Battalion (32 BGB) and Panchari Zone (3 BGB).
The victims claim that no discussion was conducted with or advance notice was given to the real owners of the land before setting up the camp. On the contrary, valuable fruit and forest trees of the plantation are being forcibly cut down and the work of leveling the hill soil with bulldozers is going on. This incident has caused extreme anger, dissatisfaction and insecurity among the common Jummas of the area.
It is learnt that a total of 3 camps are being set up in Khedarachara and Dhudhukchara, Simana Adam areas in Logang Union of Panchari Upazila, under the supervision of Khagrachari Battalion (32 BGB) and in Silchari and Kojaichari areas in Chengi Union under the supervision of Panchari Zone (3 BGB).
The owner of the Khedarachara camp site is Jayanta Moni Chakma (35), son of Kattalya Chakma, a resident of Madhuram Para (Khedarachara) village in Ward No. 5 of Logang Union No. 1. The owner of the camp site located at the middle of Simana Adam and Nirvanpur Bana Vihara of Dhudhukchara is Deboratan Chakma (35), son of late Dhanyamoni Chakma. He is a resident of Uttar Dhudhukchara village in Ward No. 2 of Logang Union No. 1. In addition, the owner of the camp site in Silchari, Kojaichari area is Barnamoni Tripura (25), son of Chan Mohan Tripura, a resident of Silchari village in Ward 1 of Panchari Union No. 3.
The landowners allege that the BGB authorities suddenly started the work of setting up these camps without any prior consent or legal notice from them. In the meantime, various fruit and forest trees, including valuable teak trees, in their hard-earned and created plantations in the areas designated for the camp have been cut down and cleared. After that, the work of building houses for the camp is being accelerated by leveling the ground with bulldozers.
An aggrieved landowner has expressed his anger and said, “These places and plantations are our only livelihood and means of survival. It is completely unjust to forcibly cut down plantations and seize land like this without any discussion or compensation.”
This incident of land grabbing without notice and forcibly has created strong dissatisfaction among the common Jummas of the area. The local residents are living in fear of losing their homes, plantations and traditionally occupied lands. They fear that if the eviction process of common Jummas by setting up camps like this continues, they will become landless.
In this regard, local conscious groups and affected families have sought the intervention of higher authorities in the administration to immediately stop this forced eviction and restore their land rights.