A large number of people joined a human chain in Chittagong to protest the construction of an elevated expressway connecting the city’s Lalkhan Bazar with Chittagong airport that they say threatens to destroy the beauty of historical sites and hills in the famed Tiger Pass area.
The protest was organized by Chittagong Heritage Protection Council at Tiger Pass square, amid torrential rain and waterlogging.
Speaking on the occasion, former mayor Mahmudul Islam Chowdhury, chairman of the council, said: “Tiger Pass has a tradition of hundreds of years. It is a gift of nature. But those who are up to destroy it are wasting government money. We have now taken to the streets to petition for the protection of Tiger Pass.”
He sought the intervention of the prime minister to ensure that Tiger Pass is not covered with concrete debris, ignoring public opinion.
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Journalist-writer Jasim Chowdhury Sabuj, member secretary of the council, said the city mayor has written to the Chattogram Development Authority (CDA) to protect the natural beauty of Tiger Pass.
He also informed that the mayor is contacting the high-ups of the government over the matter and urged the CDA to suspend construction work until further notice from the fire service.
Liberation War researcher Dr Mahfuzur Rahman said the demand of not constructing a flyover or similar establishment at Tiger Pass has become a popular issue.
“It will not be wise for the authorities concerned to construct something by bluntly disregarding public opinion,” he added.