Razia Khatun had gone to Dhamrai municipality to register her son's birth. However, after submitting the form, she had to return empty-handed as the municipal authorities were unable to provide the service due to a lack of necessary equipment.
This issue is not limited to birth registration; in fact, the municipality is currently unable to offer any services at all.
The situation is the same for Dhamrai police station. While both institutions are technically operational on paper, they remain unable to deliver many services.
On the afternoon of August 5, a housewife in the Sharifbagh area of the upazila was reportedly shot by police. Although she survived, rumours of her death spread quickly. In response, local residents, following announcements from mosques, gathered and vandalized and set fire to several offices, including those of a few municipal commissioners, Ansar barracks, UNO's residence, municipality and the police station.
After that, the operations of both the police station and the municipality effectively collapsed.
Although the police station reopened on August 13 under the supervision of the military, full operations have yet to resume. Due to the destruction of all vehicles, patrol activities have remained suspended. The municipality is facing similar challenges.
During a visit to the police station on Sunday, a duty officer was present, but the officer-in-charge (OC), investigating Officer and operations officer were all absent.
The station is filled with the remains of the burnt-out wreckage.
According to sources at the station, the vandalism and arson on August 5 destroyed the station building, two officer barracks, one officer's office, the OC's residence, a roundhouse and around six other rooms. The attack also destroyed furniture and various other structures.
In the process, two pickup trucks, four double-cabin vehicles, one Noah van and six motorcycles were completely destroyed. Additionally, one prison van and 15 motorcycles were partially damaged.
Reportedly, about 90% of the files and documents inside the station were completely burned.
During Sunday’s visit, the banner at the main gate was found vandalized. Inside, five burnt vehicles were visible next to the building. Vehicles that had been held as evidence were also vandalized. Two vehicles in front of the building were completely burnt out. Another private car next to the station was also vandalized.
Inside the station, every room showed signs of vandalism, with not a single windowpane left intact. Scorch marks were evident in several places.
Since the station reopened on August 13, there have been 130 general diary entries (GDs) and one case filed.
An officer, on condition of anonymity, said that after the vandalism, no officers returned to the station for several days.
“They only came back under military supervision on August 13. However, the OC has yet to return regularly. Due to the lack of vehicles, officers are unable to go out into the field.”
Attempts to reach any responsible officer at the station by phone were unsuccessful, and they were not present at the station either.
The situation is equally dire at Dhamrai municipality.
Upon visiting, a completely burnt-out Prado car and a motorcycle were found in front of the main gate of the municipal building. The entire building bore signs of fire damage.
According to municipal sources, the arson completely destroyed the mayor's Prado car, two garbage trucks, one pickup truck, two motorcycles, 20 rickshaw vans and two bicycles.
Additionally, two levelling machines, a construction material testing machine, 25 computers, 15 printers, two laptops and 60 power strips were looted.
Twenty cabinets, 30 desks, 30 office chairs, 200 regular chairs, two refrigerators, 200 door and window curtains and numerous electronic items were vandalized.
Municipal authorities estimate the damage to be around Tk4 crore. As a result, all citizen services, including birth and death certificates, birth registration, heir certificates and holding number certificates, are disrupted.
While the commissioners are reportedly visiting the office regularly, and the mayor is keeping tabs on the situation, services remain at a standstill.
Ruhul Amin, assistant sub-engineer (civil) of the municipality, said officers were coming to the office and construction work was ongoing.
However, due to the lack of computers, citizen services could not be provided, he added. “The applications being received are being held for processing at a later time. He mentioned that limited services are expected to resume within a day or two.”
