At the last day of special eviction drive of Roads and Highways Department in Rajshahi has demolished more two hundreds illegal structures yesterday. Roads and Highways Department had taken the massive eviction drive for constructing four-lane highway at Rajshahi-Naogaon in the district, officials said. Similar eviction drives were conducted from Shahid AHM Kamaruzzaman intersection to Nawhata Bridge on Thursday and Friday. Last two days they demolished over three hundreds more illegal structures, officials said.  

On Saturday, the RHD demolished a part of Nawhata Govt Degree College building. Hundreds of government and non-government organisation’s boundary walls and gates were also demolished. However; illegal structures, including illegal shops, markets, offices, houses, removed from both sides of Rajshahi-Naogaon Highway.  

However, due to security purpose, they did not demolished the boundary wall of Paba police station. On the other hand, due to some land issues the boundary wall of Railway Bhaban has also been excluded from demolish. A joint team of RHD, led by Mahabubur Rahman Faruki, deputy secretary of the directorate of RHD, comprised with the executive magistrate of the district administration, police, fire fighters and concerned service departments conducted the massive eviction drive.

“Government has determined to construct four-lane highway, so illegal structures beside the highway are evicted for the sake of government’s development work”, Mahabubur Rahman Faruki, estate and law officer of RHD directorate, said to The Independent. The special drive has begun on Thursday that evicted hundreds of illegal structures and the drive would be continued until to free all the highways in the district, he added.

The evicted people claimed that they were evicted within short notice so they were facing huge loss. “I have been running a small shop of warm clothes for last five years beside Rajshahi-Naogaon highway in Nawhata area. My shop was totally damaged by the eviction drive and I have lost my business capital”, said Rohidul Islam, a small vendor. Talking to the journalists, Surut Mia Nawhata Bazaar area, claimed that his three shops were damaged although he had been running businesses for last 20 years.

Mahabubur, the estate and law officer of RHD directorate, however, claimed that they were demolishing the illegal structures, so, they did not need to serve any notice to anybody. “We have announced earlier about the eviction drive”, he added.