Demolition goes in vain

This recent photo of Probal Community Centre on Rokeya Sarani in Mirpur tells nothing about the drive Rajuk carried out on October 26, inset, to retrieve car parking space on its ground floor. The building has come back to its earlier shape proving failure of the whole exercise. Photo: SK Enamul Haq

Attempt by Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) to retrieve the city's parking spaces during the ongoing drive has fallen flat, as it had happened every time in the past.
Each and every evicted illegal occupant of designated car parking spaces at business centres has come back to their earlier position just within a week of demolition, proving the futility of government effort.
Occupants of basement and ground-floor parking spaces at various commercial centres are back with immaculate reconstruction of demolished structures to the utter frustration of city dwellers.
“Rajuk's eviction drives seem ridiculous, as the deviant building owners rebuild and set up unauthorised structures just within a few days of demolition,” said Abul Bashar, a passerby, during an eviction drive in Dhanmondi on Mirpur Road on October 13.
“The shop owners started rebuilding the demolished structures just the day Rajuk team had knocked it down and left the scene,” said a roadside vendor citing a drive at Baghdad Plaza near Mirpur-1 intersection on October 25.
Shahana Muktadir, a housewife in Mirpur area, said during the drive in Mirpur, “I have never seen any eviction drive to have deterred the illegal occupants of parking spaces, as they come overnight back to pursue their commercial interest.”
“Invariably in all the cases, greedy building owners immediately rebuild the demolished portions of the buildings and run commercial activities at car parking spaces,” said Md Aminur Rahman, a Rajuk official.
It takes Rajuk a long time to go back to rectify an errant building owner, he said.
Frequent stay orders by the High Court (HC) and absence of a mobile court are two foremost reasons that often render meaningless the eviction drives to retrieve car parking spaces, said Rajuk officials.
Building Construction Act of 1952(amended in 2006), under which Rajuk carries out eviction drives, award penalty of seven years' imprisonment or a fine of Tk50,000 or both against the offenders.
But Rajuk has no legal scope to conduct a mobile court, as the law is not included in the purview of Mobile Court Ordinance 2009.
Rajuk Executive Magistrate Md Rokon-Ud-Doula said, “The penalty of instant imprisonment or fine would effectively deter the offenders from occupying car parking spaces for commercial purpose again and again.”
Commenting on HC stay orders, he said it delays the process of taking action against the errant building-owners.
While deviant building owners create legal tangle to stall rectification actions, Rajuk, with an ill-equipped law office, most often loses legal battles.
Rajuk Chairman Md Nurul Huda said Rajuk has only one magistrate to conduct eviction drives in 1530-square kilometre area.
“The drives would yield sustainable results if we had more magistrates” he said.
There are more than 5000 cases filed against Rajuk that has just one law officer and a panel of 100 hired lawyers.
“As a result, we lose legal battles frequently while integrity of the law officer is also questionable,” said Huda.
Besides, he said, “It takes up to a year to vacate a HC stay order.”
Rajuk launched a drive on October 11 on the basis of a list, recently prepared by Dhaka Metropolitan Police, of 198 buildings using car parking space commercially.
Rajuk knocked down fifteen shops including fast-food restaurants Western Grill in the basement of Kashba Centre and Helvetia at Alta Plaza on October 13 in Dhanmondi areas along Mirpur road.
The Rajuk bulldozer smashed around ten shops on the ground floor of Alta Plaza on road No-10 at Dhanmondi.
All of them are back with so immaculate reconstruction that one would not even believe that the structures were earlier bulldozed and hammered to the ground.
The Rajuk team tore down around one hundred and fifty crockery and readymade garment shops in the basements of Muktabangla and Baghdad Shopping Complex near Mirpur-1 intersection on October 25.
It bulldozed Khan Optics, Khurshid Optics and Grameen Optics on the first floor of Sweden Plaza, Taj Optics, Ray Ban Optics and a showroom of Race readymade garments at MM Islam Plaza.
Rajuk dismantled basement warehouses at Grand Prince Hotel and Restaurant and Rabiul Plaza.
All the demolished structures were found rebuilt and running in full swing.
Probal Community Centre, furniture shop Hatil, illegal structures on the ground floor of building No-183 on the Rokeya Sarani and some other structures were torn down on October 26 but were seen back in business by November 8.