A September 28 meeting at the Prime Minister's Office also ordered suspension of the gas-station construction, but the directive went ignored.

. "During daytime it looks deserted, but trucks laden with sands come at night," Dulal, a near-by resident said.

The order by the sub-committee of the Jatiya Sangsad Public Accounts Committee came after a complaint from Rajuk that blamed Bangladesh Railway (BR) for allowing Khondoker and Navana filling stations on the lowland.

Rajuk complained that the CNG stations were being built in violation of environmental and town planning acts.

The lowland is the outlet through which waste and rainwater from Dhanmondi, Kalabagan, Shahbagh, Moghbazar and Karwan Bazar stream into Begunbari and Hatirjheel.

Rajuk in a letter to the BR on November 20 expressed concern over its noncompliance with the Town Planning Act 1953, Building Construction Act 1952 and the wetland protection act 2000 in approving the CNG stations.

The letter mentioned that Rajuk's integrated plan does not allow the filling-up of lowlands around Tongi Diversion Road near Hatirjheel.

Despite repeated attempts, the BR director-general could not be reached for comments.

"Although the owner of the lowland is Bangladesh Railway, the communications ministry took the decision to allocate the land. We have nothing to do with that," a senior BR official said, requesting anonymity.

"We informed the ministry about the sub-committee's decision a few days back," the BR official said.

But State Minister for Communications Salauddin Ahmed told Star City that he was in the dark about the parliamentary sub-committee's order.

"If the construction of the CNG stations cannot be stopped, it will have an adverse impact on the surrounding areas," a Rajuk official said.