28 structures demolished

Dhaka district administration and BIWTA in a joint drive demolish illegal structures on the Buriganga near Buriganga Bridge in Postagola yesterday. Photo: Sk Enamul Haq

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority in a joint drive with Dhaka district administration yesterday removed 28 illegal structures, including four concrete buildings, built on the Buriganga river in and around Keraniganj on the outskirts of the capital.  
The two two-storey buildings and two one-storey buildings, in Meererbagh and Noiyatola near the first China-Bangladesh Friendship Bridge, had been constructed illegally on the river, said Saiful Islam, joint director of BIWTA.
All the structures demolished were in Meererbagh, Noiyatola and Hasnabad areas. The joint team also sealed off four unauthorised waste disposal lines flowing directly into the river.
Sariful said unscrupulous traders and individuals had built the structures on the foreshore of the river within the demarcation boundary of the river.
He pointed out that the river boundary demarcation was faulty and that hundreds more illegal structures would have been under the purview of their drive had the demarcation been done properly.

Workers employed for the joint drive tearing down the walls of a two-storey house. Photo: Sk Enamul Haq

The two-day drive would continue today to clear the remaining illegal structures.   
The eviction drive, led by Executive Magistrate Kazi Mahbub Ur Rahman, was carried out with the help an excavator, two workboats, one tugboat and around 70 labourers.  
A 45-member team of Dhaka district police backed up law and order during the drive.