Members of the Bangladesh Land Officers Welfare Association (BLOWA), Rajbari district unit, on Wednesday formed a human chain and submitted a memorandum to press their six-point demand.

The human chain was held around noon in front of the Rajbari Deputy Commissioner’s office, with participation from Assistant Land Officers and Sub-Assistant Land Officers working at various unions across the district.

They said land officials are frequently being harassed through malicious criminal cases filed by vested quarters while performing their official duties.

They alleged that despite lacking the authority or capacity to verify or determine the authenticity of deeds in land-related disputes, land officials are deliberately implicated in cases, posing serious threats to their professional security and creating obstacles to carrying out routine responsibilities.

The speakers further said land officials have long been suffering due to recruitment and promotion complications, discrimination in pay fixation and deprivation of due facilities despite performing risky field-level duties.

They warned that if the issues are not resolved promptly, the movement would be intensified.

The six demands include issuing a gazette notification granting immunity to Assistant and Sub-Assistant Land Officers from harassment through malicious criminal cases in land disputes; ensuring prompt recruitment against vacant posts by maintaining continuity of appointments from the 40th and 41st BCS (Non-Cadre) as per recruitment rules; upgrading the Assistant Land Officer post from 11th to 10th grade and the Sub-Assistant Land Officer post from 12th to 11th grade; resolving complexities and delays in recruitment and promotion; eliminating pay fixation complications and pay disparities; and providing special or risk allowances considering field-level risks and additional responsibilities.

After the programme, a delegation of land officials submitted a memorandum containing their six-point demands to the Senior Secretary through the front desk of the Deputy Commissioner’s office.