The Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) on Thursday emptied and demolished illegal structures of Sadeeq Agro and adjacent establishments in Mohammadpur, Dhaka.
Parts of the farm were illegally built on the Ramchandrapur canal and the adjacent road in Mohammadpur.
Mutakabbir Ahmed, executive magistrate of DNCC Zone 5, who led the eviction drive, said: “We are here to rescue the canal. We will evict whoever has an establishment here.”
When asked if the drive had anything to do with a recent goat scandal involving the son of a senior government official, Mutakabbir said: “The canal was not occupied overnight… we are not sitting around and doing nothing.”
In February the DNCC demolished a 10-storey building occupying Ramchandrapur canal.
“The DNCC mayor has zero tolerance for illegal structures occupying canals,” said the executive magistrate.
DNCC officials said dredging on this portion of the Ramchandrapur canal was scheduled to start on Thursday to prevent further construction.
Meanwhile, an official of Sadeeq Agro, on condition of anonymity, said the eviction was not the end of the organization, calling it a conspiracy hatched by other farmers. “This property is not ours; we just rented it."
The owner of the land is Abdul Rashid Talukder. His brother Abdul Alim oversees the property. Sadeeq Agro leased the land, and the lease was renewed for three years in April.
“We did not receive a notice before eviction,” Alim said.
Mutakabbir, meanwhile, said: “Illegal occupiers will not receive any legal notice beforehand. Despite that, we sent a notice to Sadeeq Agro, which is operating on the land. It was Sadeeq Agro’s duty to forward it to the owners.”
Asif Ahmed Sarker, councillor of DNCC Ward 33, said the eviction drive was not a move against Sadeeq Agro as it had been in the works for some time.
One of the cowsheds of Sadeeq Agro was empty in the morning.
Feni MP Nizam Uddin Hazari confirms Iffat as Matiur’s sonWhen asked about it, an official of Sadeeq Agro claimed that all animals had been sold for Eid-ul-Azha.
However, this correspondent saw cattle in the same shed on Monday.
All goats, including the famous one sold for Tk15 lakh, were still inside the goatshed at 12:30pm, at the beginning of demolition, but were later moved to a nearby construction site.
A pickup truck of Sadeeq Agro relocated the animals to its other sheds elsewhere.
Sadeeq Agro Ltd Chairman Imran Hossain was absent during the eviction.
People evicted too
Besides Sadeeq Agro, the DNCC evicted people from some nearby makeshift houses.
Shahabuddin, a resident of one of the houses, said his family had been living there for the last 18 years. “Both of my children were born in this house.”
Parveen, the resident of another makeshift house, was relocating corrugated roofing sheets as she said her family would now have to take refuge on the streets.
A notice from the Dhaka district administration saying “This is government property” can be seen in the place.
Controversy
Sadeeq Agro gained attention before Eid-ul-Azha by selling a goat for Tk15 lakh to Mushfiqur Rahman Ifat, son of Matiur Rahman, a high-ranking government official.
The high price sparked curiosity and controversy, making people question how an official with a basic monthly salary of Tk78,000 at his grade (grade-1) could afford such an expense.
Ifat identified Matiur as his father in some of his Facebook posts.
In a TV interview, however, Matiur denied that Ifat was his son, stating he only had two children—a son and a daughter.
Later, Feni-2 lawmaker Nizam Uddin Hazari said on a television program that Ifat was Matiur's son from his second marriage.
Over his 30-year career, Matiur has been investigated multiple times for graft by the Anti-Corruption Commission.
