Even after the upazila administration conducted a campaign to free the Kusla-Radhaganj government canal in Kotalipara upazila of Gopalganj, some encroachers are forcibly constructing illegal structures and cultivating fish in the canal, showing the thumbs up to the administration. Following complaints from the public, a team of media workers recently went to the area and found that Kalachand Karikar alias Fakir (60) has illegally occupied the government canal again, causing public suffering. He is a resident of Biramkandi village in Ward No. 2 of Kusla Union and is the son of the deceased Omed Ali Fakir of the same village. He claims that 20 percent of the land is his own, but there is a government canal in it. He himself filled the canal with sand without taking permission from the concerned authorities and took possession of the canal again. There are 8 dams and some settlements in the canal, which is about one kilometer long. The general public, including marginal farmers, is facing extreme losses due to the damming of the said government canal. Last year, the upazila administration freed the illegal encroachment of the approximately one kilometer long canal by cutting down 8 dams of the Kushla-Radhaganj canal in Kotalipara upazila of Gopalganj. At that time, 4 illegal structures built on the canal were demolished. The then Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) Pratik Dutta conducted this special campaign in the public interest with the cooperation of the Kushla Union Parishad and the police. At that time, Sekender Ali of Kushla village said, for about 20 years, some influential people had been illegally damming the Kushla-Radhaganj canal at various places including Debar-Bhabi Market, Khan Market and others and cultivating fish. After a long time, the canal was freed from encroachment in the upazila administration’s campaign. Since the canal was free from encroachment, we local farmers and the general public expected that we would benefit from cultivating Iri-Boro rice and raising cattle. But that did not happen. Some of those influential people have reoccupied the government canals. We did not understand anything, how even after the administration cut the dam of the government canal, it was again illegally occupied. At that time, several farmers and villagers who did not want to be named told the media personnel, we strongly demand through you to the Gopalganj District Commissioner Sir and the Kotalipara UNO Sir to immediately release the canal in the public interest and take strict action against the illegal encroachers. In this regard, Kotalipara Upazila Executive Officer (Additional Responsibilities) and Assistant Commissioner (Land) Md. Masum Billah said, as part of our ongoing work, one kilometer of the Kushla-Radhaganj canal will be freed from illegal encroachment. We will gradually free all the canals in the upazila. All illegal structures built on government land will be demolished.