A bulldozer demolishing structures on the encroached upon land of the Turag river in Ramchandrapur of the capital’s Mohammadpur. The drive was jointly carried out on Monday by Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority and the Dhaka district administration.
A joint team of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority and the Dhaka district administration on Monday demolished seven structures of a giant construction firm, which encroached on the Turag river in Ramchandrapur of the capital’s Mohammadpur.
The illegal structures included an asphalt plant, a one-storey office building, two semi-concrete and two tin-roofed buildings, a stone crusher and ready-mixed concrete maker of the construction company, Abdul Monem Ltd.
Dhaka River Port officer Saiful Islam said the structures were built within the river beyond the demarcation pillars, and the eviction was carried out in line with the High Court order for saving the Dhaka rivers.
Those were on the path of a proposed 2km walkway between Ramchandrapur canal and Aminbazar Bridge and were obstructing the construction work, he said.
Saiful said they served notices on the company twice, but to no avail. “We reclaimed at least two bighas of river land from the encroachment,” he added.
Saiful said they also auctioned off two piles of sand of unauthorised traders on the nearby foreshores for around Tk 3 lakh during the drive. Shafiqul Islam, assistant general manager of Abdul Monem Ltd, said they set up the plant and stackyard on a four-acre land, of which one acre lay within the river. “But we have the environment department’s clearance,” he said.
Source: The Daily Star
