Kalyanpur Canal
Wasa knocks down illegal structures
Around 20 concrete and semi-concrete structures on Kalyanpur Gha Khal (canal) in the capital were demolished in a drive yesterday.
A joint team of Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) and the district administration conducted the drive with some 100 day-labourers and 50 police men from 10:00am to 5:00pm.
The objective of the drive is to recover from grabbers the 1.25 km long canal stretching from Shewrapara to Janata Housing in West Agargaon, said Kazi Wasiuddin, executive magistrate of Wasa.
Ruhul Amin, executive engineer of Wasa, said, “We demolished 20 among 37 illegal structures built on the canal.” A five-storey building, a three-storey and a two-storey building were knocked down partially.
The drive will be continued today to demolish the remaining structures. Within a few days after eviction of all illegal structures, they will start working on a walkway at a cost of Tk 50 lakh, added Ruhul.
Wasiuddin said the drive is part of the initiative for canal recovery in the city.
“We will gradually recover 13 canals in the city from encroachers,” he said.
Meanwhile, locals complained that the boundary of the canal has not been set correctly.
Abir Khan, a resident of the area, said the surveyors on Sunday marked the boundary incorrectly, for which three rooms of their house at Paschim Kafrul Molla Para in Taltala fell under the drive.
Wasa engineer Ruhul Amin, however, said they demolished only the structures which were illegally constructed on the canal.
Courtesy of The Daily Star
