The High Court yesterday issued a rule asking why not handing over the jetties of Cox’s Bazar’s Kasturaghat, Moheshkhali and Adinath Mandir to Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority should not be declared illegal.
The bench of Justice Salma Masud Chowdhury and Justice Md Habibul Gani asked the deputy commissioner of Cox’s Bazar and twelve others to reply to the rule within four weeks after hearing a public interest litigation registered by Raihanul Mustafa, an inhabitant of Moheshkhali and a Supreme Court lawyer.
Though the government, after demarcating Cox’s Bazar (Kasturaghat) river port’s boundary, in a gazette notification on February 6, 2010 ordered to hand over the three jetties to BIWTA, the concerned authorities and the DC have not yet complied.
The litigation said people were suffering badly as the staff appointed by the DC were illegally extracting heavy tolls from them. It also said there had been no development of the Kasturghat jetty, which was still made of wood.
Supreme Court lawyer Ziaur Rahman contended for the petitioner while Deputy Attorney General Mukhlesur Rahman represented the government.