Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) has allegedly leased the Azampur Government Primary School ground and the adjoining residential area again to set up a cattle market ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, disregarding sufferings of locals and students of some 20 educational institutions.
A syndicate of influential Awami League leaders forced the city corporation authorities to lease the space, DNCC sources said.
Afsar Uddin Khan, organising secretary of Awami League’s Uttara thana unit, secured the lease of the cattle market while Jubo League leader Mahbubur Rahman got it last year.
The DNCC last year told the school authorities and the Dhaka Tribune that the cattle market would be set up elsewhere this year considering the annoyance to students, pedestrians and locals but it was not done.
The school headmistress Nargis Sultana told the Dhaka Tribune the cattle market leaves the school compound in a very bad state every year, with animal waste and holes dug in to place bamboo sticks all around.
“The children cannot play on the ground while the foul odour of cow dung ruins the educational environment. The school authorities have repeatedly urged the DNCC to stop leasing the ground for the cattle market but to no avail. Besides, there is little effort on part of the DNCC to clean the place once the market is closed,” she said.
Officials and students of nearby schools also described the market as a nuisance.
An official of the nearby Delhi Public School, who did not want to be named, said students and guardians face difficulty to move as flocks of sacrificial animals block the roads.
“We sometimes are forced to suspend classes seven days in advance to avoid problems caused by the cattle market,” he added.
The law for conserving playgrounds, open spaces, parks and natural waterbodies was passed by the House in September 2000. The act imposes requirements for mandatory approval for changing the existing use of such places, and has a provision for punishment of up to a five-year jail term or a maximum penalty of Tk50,000 in case of violation.
DNCC Chief Estate Officer Aminul Islam, however, defended the market’s location, saying it makes it easy for the locals to buy animals.
DNCC Chief Executive Officer BM Enamul Haque echoed the same, adding that the city corporation workers clean the playground every year after Eid and the school authorities are also paid rent.
However, Akramul Haque, a local resident, claimed the cattle market does not serve the local people much as the city corporation sets up other markets in Sectors 10 and 11.
This year, the two city corporations are going to set up 18 makeshift cattle markets in the capital, with 11 under the DSCC and seven under the DNCC. DNCC and DSCC officials said tenders for eight markets were re-invited as the first offers were not suitable.
City corporation sources said the influential Awami League leaders threatened other bidders and city corporation officials to secure their position bypassing the tender.
All the seven cattle markets under the DNCC were leased out to Awami League and Jubo League leaders. Because of the syndicate, the DSCC was forced to invite tenders for the third time. No satisfactory bid was made for five of the markets.
DSCC sources said most of the bidders of the cattle markets under it are leaders of the ruling party and its associate bodies, and the markets would be leased out to highest bidders.
DSCC Chief Estate Officer Khalid Ahmed said: “We invited tenders for the third time. The decision whether we would need another call for tender will come from our high-ups.”
