Eviction drive against illegal shops at Fulbaria continues

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) continued its drive against illegal shops at Phulbaria Super Market-2 for the second consecutive day on Wednesday and demolished nearly 250 shops in the city’s Gulistan area.

The DSCC started the eviction drive at the market on Tuesday amid sporadic clashes with a section of traders, who claimed that they had taken allotment of the shops from the City Corporation during the tenure of immediate past mayor Mohammad Sayeed Khokon.

DSCC mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh said that drives against illegal grabbing and corruption would continue  despite protests after a recent visit of city canals.

“Good initiatives might be obstructed but we are firm in our decision,” he said replying reporters.

Executive magistrates, who led the mobile courts, said that they evicted nearly 500 shops in two days.

DSCC chief estate officer Rasel Sabrin said that they would continue the drive on Thursday.

DSCC executive magistrates Muniruzzaman, AH Irfan Uddin Ahmed and Tanzila Kabir Trapa led the eviction drive at Gulistan, where  huge number of police were deployed to facilitate the eviction drive.

Witnesses said that the DSCC team started the eviction drive around 11:00 am without facing any obstacle from the traders on the second day and the drive continued till 6:00 pm.

There were more than four thousand shops in three DSCC markets — known as City Plaza, Nagar Plaza and Zaker Plaza.

Nearly 1,500 of these shops were built illegally in breach of the original design of the DSCC, officials said.

Shops illegally constructed inside the markets would be demolished gradually, they said.

Traders alleged that the market committee, former mayor Sayeed Khokon and some ruling party leaders had taken several lakh taka for each shop in phases promising permanent registration.