The ongoing drive by the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) against illegal establishments has pulled down a total of 1,843 illegal structures from the banks of city rivers in the last 12 days. As part of its drive, the BIWTA, with the help of the local administration, has demolished a total of 49 structures on the 12th day of its drive yesterday.

Meanwhile, the BIWTA has suspended its ongoing eviction drive for at least two weeks because of the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) by-election slated for February 28. “We have conducted our eviction drive in the city’s Basila areas. A total of three two-storey residential buildings, nine one-storey buildings, five semi-pucca houses, two-tin shade houses and 30 boundary walls have been pulled down in today’s (Wednesday) drive,” BIWTA joint director AKM Arif Uddin told The Independent yesterday.

A total of 1,843 illegal structures including residential buildings built on the river banks so far been demolished in 12 days during the drives, he said in reply to a query. When asked about the next drive, he said, “The eviction will resume after two weeks because of the DNCC polls. Help is needed from the law enforcing agencies, but they will be busy with the DNCC elections. So, we have to wait for at least two weeks to resume the drive.”

Arif said they would again conduct the drive from Basila to Gabtali.

However, the ongoing drive by the BIWTA against illegal establishments was suspended when a man, identifying himself as a leader of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), and his aides obstructed the crackdown on Tuesday.

A group of young men led by Asaduzzaman Talukder Labu, the self-proclaimed Kalkini Municipal unit Madaripur Chhatra League president, obstructed the drive when it started taking down a housing project of Amin & Momin Developments Ltd in city’s Basila.

BIWTA Executive Magistrate Mostafizur Rahman said he had ordered Labu’s detention for obstructing government work, which caused his cohorts to flee the scene.

He said: “Following the incident, the drive came to a halt for nearly an hour. “But, Labu was finally released on bond.” “Establishments of the housing project were partially knocked down during the drive but the drive resumed on Wednesday morning, with the demarcation of the project,” he added.

Previously, two executives of the real estate company, accused of land grabbing on the riverbank, were arrested on February 14. 

Meanwhile, BIWTA Joint Director AKM Arif Hossain, who is leading the drive against the encroachment on the Buriganga and Turag rivers, was summoned to his office during the crackdown.

According to him, on Tuesday, at least 39 illegal structures were demolished on the banks of Buriganga and Turag rivers, raising the number of the demolished establishments to 1,843.

 Previously, on February 13, the BIWTA was forced to suspend its drive while demolishing a two-storey building owned by the father-in-law of Anti-Corruption Commission lawyer, Mosharraf Hossain Kazol.

On February 5, the BIWTA drive dismantled several semi-concrete structures owned by Haji Mohammad Selim, Awami League lawmaker from the Dhaka 7 constituency. The crackdown on illegal establishments started on January 29, and is supposed to end on Wednesday.