BCC Demolition Drive

50 shops knocked down on day one

4 November 2009, 17:00 PM

Our Correspondent, Barisal

Barisal City Corporation (BCC) yesterday started demolition of shops constructed illegally on footpaths in the city. BCC secretary Ranjit Kumar Das told The Daily Star that they launched the drive to free the walkways from the encroachers largely responsible for traffic congestion in busy areas. BCC mayor Swakat Hossain Hiron recently directed the officials of the corporation's beautification cell to pull down all illegal shops. Reazul Kabir, road inspector of BCC said the team aided by police yesterday evicted over 50 establishments including tea stall, food shop in front of Nathullahbath bus terminal. The BCC officials said, they freed footpaths in busy areas several times in the past but the grabbers staged comeback for lack of police vigilance. It is the duty of police to keep the footpaths free for the convenience of pedestrians, they observed. But AKM Mahfuzul Haque, assistant commissioner of Barisal Metropolitan Police said, it is the responsibility of the corporation to evict illegal occupants from the footpaths with the help of police force.