A bulldozer demolishes illegal establishments in an eviction drive conducted by RAJUK at Dhanmondi in Dhaka on Wednesday.
The High Court on Wednesday granted Scholastica and Aurora International School time until December 31 to shift from Gulshan.
It also granted three months’ time to Hotel Holiday Planet, Coffee World Restaurant and Hotel Amari to shift from Gulshan.
A bench of Justice Quamrul Islam Siddique and Justice Razik Al Jalil passed the order after hearing five writ petitions challenging the eviction drives the government launched at Gulshan, Banani, Uttara and Baridhara without prior notice.
The court asked the owners to arrange security at the two schools and the three hotels and restaurants by deploying armed Ansar personnel or private security guards at their own costs.
During the hearing attorney general Mahbubey Alam said that the life and property of citizens, specially foreign nationals were under threat after ‘terrorist’ attack on Holey Artisan Bakery which was also running illegally.
In his submissions, the attorney general said that the two schools be given time until December 31 to relocate.
He submitted that the hotels, restaurants and guest houses be given one month to relocate on the condition that they cannot run business at Gulshan any longer.
A separate two-judge bench of Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury and Justice Md Ataur Rahman Khan issued a rule nisi directing Rajuk to explain why the notices it published in newspapers that declare that business establishments at Uttara, Gulshan, Banani and Baridhara would be shut down would not be declared illegal.
The bench passed the order after hearing four writ petitions filed by Garden Residence, Double Tree Hotel and Suites, Richmond Hotel and Suites , and Blue Bell International.
On July 25, Rajuk launched an eviction drive against unauthorised commercial establishments from Gulshan and Uttara Appearing for five Gulshan based business establishments, lawyer Omar Sadat submitted that his clients invested in their enterprises after obtaining permission from the Board of Investment.
Appearing for four Uttara based business establishments, Habibul Islam Bhuiyan submitted that eviction without serving notice was illegal.
The government launched the drive to demolish unauthorized commercial buildings at Gulshan, Banani and Baridhara after the recent extremist attack on Holey Artisan Bakery claimed 22 lives including 17 foreigners and two police officers.
Source: New Age
