Eviction drive on Saidpur rly land stalled for a month

An under-construction multi-storied market, one of 30 such structures being built by illegal occupiers on the railway land in Saidpur municipality under Nilphamari district. Photo: Star

The biggest ever eviction drive of Bangladesh Railway (BR) to remove illegal structures from its land in Saidpur municipality under the district has remained stalled for one month allegedly due to interference by the local lawmaker.
Earlier on March 18, as per directive of the parliamentary standing committee on railway affairs, BR's estate department in Pakshi division launched a massive eviction drive in Saidpur municipality to free from occupiers most of the 797 acres of railway land there. 
 In first two days, they demolished about 300 illegal makeshift shops and business structures with bulldozers, clearing surroundings of Saidpur Rail Station and adjoining rail tracks.
The eviction team planned to launch a tougher drive on March 20 to demolish 30 new under construction multi-storied markets owned by influential people at the town centre.
Approached by the occupants to stop the drive, lawmaker from Nilphamari-4 constituency Shawkat Chowdhury, also opposition Jatiya Party whip in parliament, met the eviction team at railway officers' club on March 19 night.
"In that meeting, the lawmaker requested us to suspend the eviction drive for a few days so that he could talk to higher officials of railway and we complied as he assured stopping the construction work of 30 large markets,” Mustaq Ahmed, Pakshi divisional estate officer, said on Wednesday. 
"But the occupiers continued the illegal construction, and now we are facing obstacles to restart the drive as an occupant filed a false case against the eviction team members," he added.
Contacted, lawmaker Shawkat Chowdhury said, "Widespread eviction might affect law and order as occupants are in possession of railway land for decades and doing business there. I met the railway minister and proposed to him that the department keep under possession only the land it needs for operation and the rest of the land be legally leased for long term to occupants for revenue.”
Expressing ignorance about continuation of market construction on railway land, he said, "The railway authorities concerned did not bring the matter to my notice."
Earlier mysterious fires on the nights of January 25 and 26 destroyed two big makeshift markets of cloth and groceries on railway land.
Taking opportunity of the sympathetic situation, a syndicate of big traders started illegal construction of 30 multi-storied permanent markets on the railway land in Saidpur, prompting the BR authorities to launch a massive eviction drive.