Jamuna top floors Lack of regulatory measures causes colossal loss of property; Rajuk could have levied fine

Rajuk starts breaking

Jamuna top floors Lack of regulatory measures causes colossal loss of property; Rajuk could have levied fines

Friday February 05 2010 02:56:28 AM BDT

Several thousand crore taka worth of property face damage as the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) yesterday started demolition of unauthorised upper four floors of the 10-storied Jamuna Future Park Shopping Complex in the city.(New Nation)

“We have started the demolition work but do not have adequate preparation as we got the order last night,” Rajuk Director, Development Control Abdul Mannan Sheikh, who was present on the spot during the start of demolition, said.

Rajuk went for the demolition one day after the High Court summarily rejected a writ petition challenging a Rajuk notice that asked Jamuna Future Park Shopping Complex authorities to demolish the unauthorised top four floors of the 10-storey building.

The shopping complex authorities filed the writ petition on January 17 this year.

Rajuk on January 17 gave the Jamuna Future Park authorities seven days' notice to knock down the unauthorised parts of the huge shopping complex claimed to be the largest in South Asia.

The Jamuna Future Park, said to be the largest shopping complex in South Asia, inside the Bashundhara Residential Area has shopping area in the first six floors and office and commercial space in the top four floors.

The corporate office of the Jamuna Group was located on the 9th floor of the huge building.

Jamuna Group officials say, the building had foundation to have 10 floors and was built by maintaining high construction standards.

A joint demolition team comprising Police and Rajuk officials led by Executive Magistrate Rokon-Ud-Doula started the demolition work at around 10:30 AM.

Sources said an application was filed on the day with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court challenging Wednesday’s HC decision rejecting the writ petition.

Competent sources said Rajuk did not stop the Jamuna Group from going ahead with the huge work at the construction stage. For violation of rules, Rajuk had provision to punish them by imposing fine. But the action now taken amounts to destroying huge national property.

The demolition of the Rangs Bhaban at Panthapath was not opposed much as its construction not only violated Rajuk rules, but also the structure proved to have seriously affected public interest by blocking the construction of a road.

Demolition of the four upper floors of the Jamuna Future Park by the use of hammers might weaken the lower six floors of the building, some Jamuna Group officials feared.

Jamuna Group director Abdul Wadud said they were preparing for appeal against the High Court ruling before the Appellate Division.

Rokon-Ud-Doula said the drive would continue unless there was a court order.

Earlier, a team of plainclothes police from Badda Thana and Rajuk’s demolition workers took position in front of the main gate of the shopping complex around 9:30 AM and barred the employees of the complex from entering the premises.

Four platoons of police joined the demolition workers led by Deputy Commissioner of DMP Monir while Rajuk’s Authorised Officer-2 Shafiqul Islam represented Rajuk. Three more Rajuk officials were present to help Shafiqul.

Rajuk official told The New Nation that the owner of the sprawling complex across 10 acres of land (1000 decimals) had illegally built four floors on top of the approved six floors.

But Nurul Islam, Chief of the Jamuna Future Park development, disagreed with Rajuk and challenged its decision in the court.

A Jamuna employee alleged that the office of the group chairman located on the 9th floor was ransacked during the drive. 

Obama to honor 7 CIA officers killed in Afghanistan blast

February 5, 2010 1:45 a.m. EST

President Obama is seen on a previous visit to CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, on April 20, 2009.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Service is to be held Friday morning at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia
• 7 CIA officers were killed December 30 in suicide bombing in Afghanistan
• Intelligence analyst says suicide bombing was "a huge blow, symbolically and tactically"

RELATED TOPICS

• Central Intelligence Agency
• Afghanistan
• Barack Obama

Washington (CNN) -- President Obama is scheduled to attend a Friday memorial service for seven CIA officers and contractors killed in Afghanistan in December.

The service is to be held Friday morning at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

A suicide bomber killed the CIA officers and contractors, as well as a Jordanian intelligence official, on December 30 at a U.S. base in Khost, in southeastern Afghanistan.

The bomber was within seconds of being searched by security contractors when he detonated his explosives, a former intelligence official with knowledge of the incident told CNN in January.

Two of those killed were contractors with private security firm Xe, formerly known as Blackwater, a former intelligence official told CNN. The CIA considers contractors to be officers.

U.S. and Jordanian officials say the bomber, Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, had been recruited as a counterterrorism intelligence agent, despite concerns over his extremist views. He was being used in the hunt for a senior al Qaeda figure.

Reva Bhalla, director of analysis for the international intelligence company STRATFOR, said in January that the suicide bombing was "a huge blow, symbolically and tactically." The bombing eliminated so many CIA officers, who can take years to become ingrained in the region.

In addition, the attack showed the ability of the Taliban to penetrate perhaps the most difficult of targets -- a CIA base, she said.

Former CIA official Robert Richer called the bombing the greatest loss of life for the agency since the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, which killed eight agents.

from: CNN