The Chattogram Development Authority (CDA) has evicted at least 60 shops from three two-storey buildings in the Debar Para Colony area of Agrabad to proceed with construction of a ramp for the Shaheed Wasim Akram Elevated Expressway.
The eviction drive was conducted in two phases from 11am to 4pm on Tuesday, according to CDA officials.
A ramp for the expressway will be constructed on approximately 0.22 acres of land in Debar Para. Once built, vehicles heading toward Shah Amanat International Airport will be able to descend to Agrabad Commercial Area and surrounding areas using the ramp, CDA sources said.
However, construction work had been delayed for a long time due to the presence of three markets on the designated land.
The CDA’s Engineering Department and Authorized Division-2 jointly conducted the eviction drive, demolishing the buildings with three excavators. Members of police and RAB were deployed at the scene to maintain law and order.
The drive was led by CDA Senior Magistrate and expressway project director Mahfuzur Rahman.
Local sources said the evicted land was originally owned by Bangladesh Railway. The land was acquired by CDA from Railway for the expressway project, and compensation was paid. Despite this, encroachers did not vacate the land.
Over a hundred stationery shops had been operating for a long time in three markets there, with 60 shops on the 0.22 acres designated for the ramp.
Affected business owners alleged the eviction drive was carried out without any prior notice. They claimed they had submitted applications to CDA requesting time until after Eid-ul-Azha.
The business owners also claimed they had paid rent to Railway up to June of this year, and each shop had goods worth Tk 30-40 lakh. They said a huge quantity of goods was damaged due to the sudden eviction.
CDA’s Authorized Officer Tanjib Hossain said the drive was conducted to free the necessary land for ramp construction.
“The evicted shops were on the designated land for the ramp. Construction work on the airport-bound ramp will begin there very soon,” he said.
