Bangladesh authorities have launched a massive demolition drive in Dhaka to ease the capital's chronic traffic congestion, an official said Saturday. Thousands of illegally constructed buildings in upmarket areas of the city are being reduced to rubble by bulldozers and hundreds of workers with pickaxes.
The drive began late last month but demolition crews had now moved into high gear, officials said. "Already we have demolished thousands of illegal structures. We will clear all the roads in the city in a bid to ease traffic congestion," said the chief of the capital's development authority, K.A.M. Harun.
"Any building which is constructed contravening our guidelines will also be demolished. We will not spare it, even if it is a 15- or 20-storey building," he said. The demolition drive is one of a string of initiatives by the interim government to clean up the country's corruption-beset political system in order to hold credible parliamentary elections.
Officials said buildings and land grabbed by owners for customer parking slowed traffic, greatly contributing to the city's chronic traffic woes. At peak times, the congestion frequently leads to complete gridlock, adding hours to commuters' journey times.
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