Occupied land freed, 100 shops near it demolished

The district administration removes illegal set ups in front of the Uttara Gonobhaban in Natore Sadar upazila on Sunday afternoon, recovering 2.68 acres of land belonging to the historic palace now used as the provisional official residence of the head of the government, in the northern region. Inset, main gate of the impressive building.Photo: STAR

A mobile court demolished about 100 illegal shops in front of Uttara Gonobhaban at Dighapatia in Natore Sadar upazila and recovered 2.68 acres of land of the traditional palace complex on Sunday afternoon.
"The drive was conducted as per a High Court directive, said Executive Magistrate Saniul Haq who conducted the drive.
The High Court on January 17 asked the district administration to remove the illegal structures within seven days, following a case submitted by advocate Aminul Haque.
The district administration received the copy of the order on Saturday.
Uttara Gonobhaban, earlier known as Dighapatia Rajbari, was the palace of the maharajas (zamindars) of Dighapatia during the British period.
On July 24 in 1967, the authorities in erstwhile East Pakistan made it 'Governor House'.
After the country's independence, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared the palace as Uttara Gonobhaban on February 9 in 1972, making it official residence of the head of the government of Bangladesh, in northern region.
The building with historical and archaeological importance is situated beside Natore-Bogra highway, some 2.4 kilometres from Natore town.
On October 25 last year, Uttara Gonobhaban was opened for the public, facilitating visitors to see the impressive palace for a Tk 10 ticket.
It remains open from 11:00am to 4:00pm everyday, the district administration sources said.
Raja Dayaram Roy constructed the main structure of the palace.
Later Raja Pramada Nath Roy rebuilt the whole palace complex after the catastrophic earthquake in 1897.