Chattogram City Corporation Mayor AJM Nasir Uddin allegedly slapped an engineer of National Housing Authority (NHA) when he approached the mayor over a land-related issue at Nagar Bhaban in Anderkilla of the port city on Monday night.

Protesting the incident, CBA (Collective Bargaining Agency) of NHA started an indefinite work abstention from yesterday.

On the other hand, Young Engineers Forum formed a human chain in the city, accusing the NHA engineer of “misbehaving” with the mayor.

A dispute ensued when CCC allegedly intruded into the boundary of NHA housing estate while building a drain in Halisahar area.

Asrafuzzaman Palash, assistant engineer of NHA who came under the alleged attack, told The Daily Star yesterday that CCC was constructing a 120-foot width drain in the area from G-block to H-block.

“Its width was expanded encroaching upon the NHA housing estate.

Immediately, we complained to CCC engineers, who invited us to meet the mayor at his office to resolve the issue,” he said.

“We went to the mayor's office on Monday evening. He told his engineers to expand the drain by 170 feet. I tried to convince him saying that it would be an encroachment of NHA housing estate, which infuriated him,” Palash alleged.

“At one stage, he [the mayor] slapped me and forced me out of his office,” he alleged.

When asked about the incident, AJM Nasir Uddin told reporters at his office that the engineer “misbehaved” while complaining about the drain. “I did not slap him. I rebuked him for his misbehaviour,” the mayor claimed.