Endangered Ctg park to host ‘July fair’, Jubo Dal leader ‘obtains permission from mayor’
The city corporation’s CEO Sheikh Muhammad Touhidul Islam said he had no knowledge of the approval process.
A local leader of the BNP's youth wing, Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal, who is reportedly a follower of Chittagong City Corporation Mayor Shahadat Hossain, is leading the arrangement of a fair commemorating the July uprising at the city's Biplob Udyan amid outcry from environmental activists to protect the park's environment.
The event, titled "July Victory Fair", is scheduled to start tomorrow (9 August) under the banner of "Chhatra Samaj, Chattogram Metropolitan". Visiting the site today (8 August), this correspondent saw stalls had already been set up, and amusement rides were being installed at the park.
According to Chattogram City Corporation officials, permission to use Biplob Udyan as the venue for the fair was secured by Alef Uddin Rubel, a former vice president of the Chattogram Metropolitan Chhatra Dal, and an aspirant for the position of general secretary in the city unit Jubo Dal.
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While Rubel claims he merely helped younger organisers obtain the permit, witnesses say he is directly overseeing the fair arrangement.
One organiser, Nurul Islam, told The Business Standard that they paid Tk2 lakh in revenue to the city corporation for the venue permit. Another organiser, Md Sujan, said Rubel is acting as in-charge of the fair's arrangements.
Contacted, Rubel told TBS that as he has a good connection with the mayor, he just helped the students with obtain permission. "The organisers of the event will pay revenue according to the city corporation's day's count."
The city corporation's CEO Sheikh Muhammad Touhidul Islam said he had no knowledge of the approval process.
However, Revenue Officer Sabbir Rahman, told TBS that the park was allotted for organising a fair with the authorisation from the mayor. "But, we did not receive any revenue for the allotment."
Advocate Akhtar Kabir Chowdhury, president of the Chattogram chapter of Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik, criticised the move, saying, "Biplob Udyan is a public space. Past mayors destroyed it by leasing it out. I had hoped the current mayor would restore its greenery, but instead, he is following the same harmful path."
"Public spaces are meant for free, open access—not for commercial exploitation," he added.
The attempts to contact Mayor Shahadat for his comments were unsuccessful as his phone was switched off.
Environmental and social activists in Chattogram have long been advocating against commercial use of the two-acre Biplob Udyan to protect its open space.
