Why kitchen market near Baldha Garden not illegal

The High Court yesterday questioned the legality of construction of a kitchen market on a road near Baldha Garden at Wari in the capital.

The court issued a rule asking the authorities concerned of the government to explain in four weeks why the construction of the market should not be declared illegal.

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The HC bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo issued the rule after hearing a writ petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer Masud Ahmed Sayeed following a report headlined "Road given to AL men" published in The Daily Star on August 23 this year.

The report says, "In a bizarre move, Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) leased out a public road near Baldha Garden to Awami League men, who then set up a kitchen market there." The once widely used road now has 44 shops on it. Some of the shops were rented out and some sold, it adds.

The lane is next to the west wall of Baldha Garden between Nawab Street and Hare Street in Wari, a densely populated residential area, according to the report.

Petitioner's lawyer Muchtadir Rahman told The Daily Star that the kitchen market was constructed in violation of the Government Estates Manual 1958 and the fundamental rights of the people guaranteed by the constitution.

He said public places cannot be used for commercial purposes as per the law.