Shahbagh flower shops evicted

Staff Reporter :The authorities of Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) South on Saturday evicted flower shops, occupying the footpath at Shahbagh intersection for a long time.The DCC authorities and Shahbagh police jointly started the eviction drive in the morning.Shahbagh Police Station Officer-in-Charge Sirajul Islam said this reporter that the city corporation authorities have evicted the makeshift flower market in order to clean up the footpath. Meanwhile, the flower traders complained that they had to face huge financial losses for not getting advance notice before the eviction. Trader Abul Kalam said the drive was carried out without any prior notice. “I have never seen such an eviction in last 30 years.”They were told to remove their shops in an announcement made just 10 minutes before the authorities swung into action, said trader Rokeya Begum and Rajan.They said although the business has no legal grounds, they have been running it through mutual understanding with the city corporation. Every shop has been paying Tk 750 to the corporation for cleaning the garbage from the shops, they said.The 25-year-old makeshift flower market is considered as the largest wholesale market in the country. According to traders, the yearly domestic market for flowers now stands more than Tk100 crore.