Unauthorized Shops and Warehouses in DSCC Market
- Rooftop Shops and Warehouses Pose Fire Risk
- Corporation Getting No Revenue From These Shops
- Lakhs of Taka Embezzled
Hundreds of tin-shed shops and warehouses have been built on the rooftops of Dhaka Trade Center North and South, owned by Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC). These shops and warehouses, built outside the approved design of the city corporation market and in violation of regulations, have already been used to embezzle large sums of money. Because these shops and warehouses have been built on top of the market without following rules, there is a risk of fire at this market. Those concerned fear the possibility of catastrophic damage should a fire occur. The corporation is receiving no revenue from these shops built up in the DSCC market. Leading the embezzlement of lakhs of taka through the construction of these unauthorized shops in the market is Mozammel Haque Moju, President of Dhaka Trade Center North and President of Bangabazar Complex. Traders say his associates have also been evading Dhaka South City Corporation in this manner for a long time.
Asked about the matter, DSCC Property Officer and Executive Magistrate Hasiba Khan told Inqilab that Dhaka South City Corporation would take necessary action against the illegal structures. The structures built on the rooftops of Dhaka Center North and South, owned by DSCC, will be evicted.
Several traders in the Gulistan area of the capital, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Afzal Hossain, who was MP for the Kishoreganj-5 constituency during the Awami League government’s tenure, had occupied several markets in the Gulistan area, and the main architect of this occupation was Afzal’s associate, Mozammel Haque Moju. Although Afzal is now in jail, Moju continues the work of occupying DSCC’s markets and shops. He and his syndicate have already changed the design of the city corporation market by setting up shops and selling them. They have built illegal shops and warehouses. There are also allegations against Mozammel Haque Moju that he has previously embezzled crores of taka through irregularities in shop allocation at many other markets as well. Working as his associates are Mir Al Mamun, Baset Master, Akhtar Hossain Rana, and several other trader leaders.
It has been learned that trader leader Mozammel Haque Moju built tin-shed shops and warehouses on the rooftops of Dhaka Center North and South, owned by DSCC. By setting up these unauthorized shops and warehouses outside the city corporation market’s approved design, he has already embezzled a large sum of money. This Mozammel Moju syndicate is leading the embezzlement of lakhs of taka by building around a thousand unauthorized shops in this market. Under the names of Mozammel Haque Moju and Afzal, 591 shops of Bangabazar Complex were sold, embezzling hundreds of crores of taka. There are about 2,000 permanently and temporarily allocated shops from the basement to the sixth floor. Counting small and large shops together, the market has about three thousand shops. Dhaka Trade Center South has a total of 1,161 shops, comprising 951 permanent and 210 temporary. Dhaka Trade Center North has a total of 1,108 shops, comprising 971 permanent and 237 temporary. But this market has more than 3,000 additional shops that members of this syndicate have occupied. While his past associates Afzal Hossain, Zahirul Islam, and Nazmul Huda are fugitives, he remains active and unhindered. It has been learned that under Moju’s leadership, large sums of money have been taken from traders in exchange for control over several markets around Bangabazar Complex. Despite being located very close to DSCC’s Nagar Bhaban (city hall), this business syndicate continues building shops on top of the Bangabazar Complex, Dhaka Trade Center North, and South market buildings, defying corporation officials. Moju’s associates Jasim and Jahangir operate at Dhaka Trade Center. The market is being run under their leadership, and ordinary shop owners and traders are held hostage by them. There were 2,370 affected members at Bangabazar Complex market. Several traders said that in 2012-13, the Afzal syndicate fraudulently listed 591 people as affected parties to include them under the city corporation, and Mozammel Haque Moju, one of the main beneficiaries of the Afzal syndicate, along with certain Jubo League leaders, divided up and embezzled hundreds of crores of taka.
Dhaka South City Corporation’s (DSCC) Chief Revenue Officer Zonayed Kabir Sohag told Inqilab that building tin-shed shops on the rooftops of Dhaka Center North and South, owned by DSCC, is completely illegal. “We will not allow any illegal structure to remain,” he said. The corporation’s property department has been informed to evict the unauthorized structures built at these DSCC-owned markets.
