The government has issued a transfer order for the Chairman of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA).
Amid BIWTA’s intense eviction drives on the banks of Buriganga and Karnaphuli rivers, the public administration ministry issued a circular in this regard on Thursday.
BIWTA Chairman Commodore Mohammad Mozammel Haque confirmed the matter to the Dhaka Tribune on Friday evening and said: “The transfer is a routine procedure and I will be joining the Bangladesh Navy at a higher rank.”
The post is set to be filled by Commodore M Mahbub-ul Islam, who is currently stationed in Chittagong as the Commodore Naval Aviation (COMNAV).
When asked if the transfer was in anyway linked to the crackdown on illegal establishments that started on January 29, Commodore Mozammel said: “It is a routine transfer which has nothing to do with the drive.”
“I will hand over my responsibilities to the new chairman after he joins the BIWTA leaving his Chittagong office,” added Mozammel.
BIWTA Joint Director AKM Arif Hossain, who is leading the drive against the Buriganga River encroachment, said the transfer of the BIWTA chief will not complicate the eviction process.
On Thursday’s parliament session, the State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury said that the eviction drives will continue disregarding outside influence.
Until Thursday, the BIWTA authorities demolished 1,500 illegal structures on the banks of the Buriganga River, reclaiming at least 15 acres of land.
Two executives of a real estate company, accused of land grabbing on the bank of the Turag River, were arrested on Thursday.
Earlier on Wednesday, the BIWTA was forced to temporarily suspend its drive while knocking down a two-storey building owned by the father-in-law of Anti-Corruption Commission lawyer, Mosharraf Hossain Kazol.
On February 5, the BIWTA drive demolished several semi-concrete structures owned by Haji Mohammad Selim, Awami League lawmaker from the Dhaka 7 constituency.