Mirsharai-Fatikchari road is an important road of Chittagong residential and commercial road. The road is about 29 km long and barriers have been created by occupying the shops on both sides of the road. About 50 illegal shops have been built on both sides of the Mirsharai entrance of this road. Mirsharai Degree College and Mirsharai Stadium are at a distance of 50 meters from the road entrance. There is Mirsharai Kacha Bazar and Upazila Digital Post Office on the road. Despite the presence of these important institutions, temporary shops have been built on both sides of the road. Traffic jams and civil strife are daily occurrences here. Nirav Sawaz (Roads and Highways Department) is silent after seeing this.
A gang is collecting daily and monthly wages from illegal shops. The Dhaka-Chittagong highway has no way of understanding from both directions. There is no way to understand it, there is a very important post office of the upazila behind the shop.
On Wednesday morning, it can be seen on the ground that two sides of the road have been occupied by fruit shops, clothing shops, and tea shops. There are several shops on both sides of the main gate of the Upazila Post Office and along the steps of the foot over bridge. In front of the gate are the pillars of the foot over bridge. However, the temporary shopkeepers have set up their stalls by blocking the traffic on both sides. It is difficult to find the post office in the crowd of shopkeepers and shoppers. Customers are seen standing around unable to enter the post office. A woman named Maryam came from Baria to the post office to collect revenue stamps for bank work. But the post office entrance is unable to enter the shop goods and crowd of people. The post office is not easy to find because of the illegal shops on either side of the main gate of the post office, the foot over bridge above, the pillars of the bridge in front and the goods and customers of the temporary shopkeepers in the rest of the area. There is no way to understand from outside, here is the most important post office of the upazila.
A shop owner said on condition of anonymity that there are about 30 shops here. Every shopkeeper, regardless of business, has to pay money to the market lessee on a daily basis. Depending on the shop, Tk 100 to Tk 300 is collected daily from these illegal shops.
Ashraf, the victim pedestrian, said that it is wrong to set up a shop on the public road and take money in this way. The government did not ask the lessee to set up a shop on the road outside the market and collect money.
When Mirsharai postmaster Nurul Alam asked about this, he said, ‘Shopkeepers do not accept obstacles. Mayor Gias Uddin, president of the market committee, has been informed. Even then it didn't work.’
When asked about this, Ghiyas Uddin, mayor of Mirsharai municipality and president of the market committee, said, temporary shopkeepers run their families by running small shops. It is their profession. Still, measures will be taken to keep the road open by talking to them.
Rokon Uddin Khaled Chowdhury, Sub-Divisional Engineer of Sawaz (Roads and Public Roads) Chittagong (North) said, people cannot move on the road due to these illegal shops. A foot over bridge on the side, can't use that either. Mirsharai-Fatikchari is an important road. Within 10-15 days we will give notice for eviction of illegal shops. Road expansion will start soon. Before that, both sides of the road will be cleared.
