Clear Laldighi Maidan of rental cars

The Chittagong city unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) yesterday gave the administration 15 days' time to remove the rental cars and microbuses parked inside historic Laldighi Maidan.

In a media release, Imran Ahmed Imu and Nurul Ajim Rony, president and general secretary of the unit, said the ground bore memories of the anti-British movement, Language Movement and the movement for the country's independence.

It is important in political, cultural and sports arenas and has been serving as an important venue for these activities for more than a hundred years, the statement said.

But some interest groups are illegally occupying the ground, turning it into a stand of rental cars and microbuses due to "negligence of the authorities", they said.

The BCL leaders said students and youths could not play there due to this illegal occupation and threatened to go for tougher movement if the authorities do not clear the ground in 15 days.

Almost two-thirds of Laldighi Maidan, owned by Government Muslim High School, remain occupied by these vehicles.