Dinajpur town's solid waste has nowhere to go. The site of municipality's only designated waste dump was grabbed in December last year. Since then, waste has been dumped at various other locations, posing a risk to public health.

The municipal authority has been using 8.6 acres of land in the Matsagar area of Sadar upazila as a waste dump for more than 50 years, but with forged land documents and misinforming Dinajpur land office, the site has now been grabbed by influential parties, says advocate Meherul Islam.

Municipal officers say that on 11 Novemeber 1961 local authorities paid for 5,188 taka to buy the land parcel under the Emergency Requisition of Property Act 1948. A subsequent gazette notification was published on 29 August 1963.

For nearly a half century thereafter, there was no dispute raised regarding ownership of the site; then, in 2011, the land was grabbed, says Dinajpur's mayor, Jahangir Alam.

Subsequently citizens groups from Dinajpur town reoccupied the land, according to the mayor. A case was then filed with a Dinajpur court by Nirod Mohon Das, Abu Hossain and Sontosh Kumar Biswas, claiming the land.

Then last year just prior to the municipality election the land was grabbed once more, at the end of December. "In the absence of a mayor and councillors during the municipality election," says Alam, "the land grabbers erected a brick structure on the land."

Dinajpur municipality and civil society representatives jointly called a meeting over the issue on 5 March this year. Civil society advocates proposed further action including a daylong hartal to demand the removal of the land grabbers, but lawmaker Iqbalur Rahim requested such action be postponed.

The Citizen group "Dinajpur Moyla Gadda Dokholmukto Committee" again met in the Dinajpur Press Club auditorium last Saturday, where the committee urged the local administration to remove the land grabbers as early as possible. They also demanded the land grabbers' immediate arrest.

Speakers and attendees at the meeting included AK Azad of Nagorik Udyog, Mosaddek Hossain, the president of Dinajpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry, former mayor Mosaddek Hossain Labu, Sultan Kamal Uddin Bachchu of Sammillito Sangskritik Jot and local Jatiya Party president, Ahmed Safi Rubel.

The speakers expressed concern that Dinajpur's municipal authority is facing severe problem to accommodate the solid wastes produced by city dwellers every day due to the grabbing of the waste dump's land, which poses a public health risk.

The Daily Star found that Dinajpur Municipality is dumping waste at different places including along the verges of different highways and beside Dinajpur Government College. Mayor Alam says he currently has no alternative.

"Is this the right place to dump waste?" asks Dinajpur Government College student Jannatun Sultana. The Daily Star asks the same.