Syed Shemul Parvez :
Karwan Bazar storehouse is not going to be removed elsewhere although almost a decade passed and crores of taka were spent.
As a result, plan to relocate most of the shops from city’s Karwan Bazar kitchen market to multiple locations has remained in limbo for era despite reported completion of the required facilities at the specific places in the capital city.
Due to the delay in the process, the newly constructed buildings are decaying as they remain unused for years.
Atiqul Islam, Mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation said the warehouse needed to be relocated as soon as possible. But I can’t fix the specific time now.
We have already met and talked with the Minister of Agriculture. The minister has agreed to give up the road behind the warehouse.
The DNCC, which oversees the entire relocation process, said they are untangling the deadlock.
However, the DNCC authority has not been able to determine the date yet.
There is still a raw market storehouse built on a few acres of land in this area.
Despite various demands or initiatives taken year after year, due to the influence of a powerful quarter, the raw material market is still functioning in this busiest place.
This market transfer process has been going on for more than a decade. It was said that this wholesale market were supposed to go to Jatrabari and Gabtali on both sides of the city.
According to sources, due to the influence of a powerful quarter or force, the transfers cannot be done. There are also a matter of extortion, sources added.
On the other hand, after a long wait, the raw market of South City built in Jatrabari was partially opened, but the new raw market has been lying dormant in the north for almost a decade at a cost of around taka 100 crore.
Traders, however, said that they will not follow the direction if the authority does not comply with their seven-point demand, including construction of new roads and allotment of shops on easy terms.
Omar Farooq, president of Karwan Bazar Small Raw Materials Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited, said, “We have discussed over the seven points demand issues with the ministry.”
In the light of these discussions, we have agreed that we will move if these are resolved.
Earlier, late Mayor of DNCC Annisul Huq wanted to shift the wholesale market of Karwan Bazar to Jatrabari and Gabtoli within few months.
The project was sanctioned in 2006, and the construction work started in 2008, with the initial decision of constructing four buildings at Mahakhali, Aminbazar (Darus Salam area near Sweeper Colony), Lalbagh, and Jatrabari beside Mohammad Hanif Flyover’s Demra landing ramps.
But with a revised plan, the government decided to build three buildings, except Lalbagh for relocation later.
Many people call the Karwan Bazar area as the heart of the capital.
Besides, the importance of this area of the capital has been multiplied in the last few decades as a commercial building as well as media village.
Geographically, this area is also the hub of communication with grater Mirpur, Motijheel, Gulshan, Dhanmondi or Old Dhaka.
