The Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) has failed to make Muktangan off-limits for car rental companies that turned the place into a parking lot over the years.
Around 15-20 commercial vehicles, mostly cars and microbuses, are seen parked on the space almost round the clock.
Unscrupulous businessmen, backed by a section of the ruling party, continue to run their businesses by occupying the large, open space once dedicated for political meetings and rallies.
The Dhaka Microbus and Car Owners Association has set up an illegal tin-shed office on the premises without any permission from the corporation authorities.
A senior official of DSCC, seeking anonymity, said, “The corporation cannot take any step against unauthorised parking because of the people behind the businesses. There are political leaders, police officials and even officials of the corporation itself.”
“Those occupying the place got political back-up in the past and they are getting it now too. There is nothing that you can do about it,” he added.
When contacted, the DSCC chief estate officer, Md Jamal Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune that he had been instructed by the “higher authorities” not to talk about Muktangan with journalists.
In the past, several attempts were made to evict illegal occupants from the place – previously a property of the Department of Public Works – but they returned once eviction drives were finished.
However, Ansar Ali, Chief Executive Officer of DSCC, renewed the assurance that “proper initiatives to clear the space will be taken.”
Currently, there is a Dhaka Metropolitan Police ban on holding any kind of programmes, social or political, on the premises of Muktangan because of its being situated near the Bangladesh Secretariat building.