NCP protests removal of July Uprising graffiti in Ctg, BNP takes position

The Chattogram metropolitan unit of the National Citizen
Party (NCP) has alleged that the Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) ordered the
removal of graffiti commemorating the July mass uprising, prompting the party
to stage a protest programme and repaint the artwork.
Tensions escalated on Sunday night
(17 May) when NCP activists gathered in front of the city corporation office to
protest the alleged removal and began repainting graffiti linked to the
movement.
The controversy erupted after
images circulated on social media showing white and yellow paint covering
murals and graffiti drawn on pillars of the Wasim Akram Flyover.
According to NCP leaders, Mayor Shahadat Hossain directed the removal of the
graffiti in an attempt to erase the history of the uprising. They said the
party was compelled to take to the streets in protest.
The situation intensified after
local BNP activists also began gathering in the area following news of the NCP
demonstration. Supporters of the two political parties took positions near the
entrance of the city corporation office.
Police from Khulshi Police Station
rushed to the scene with additional personnel and dispersed activists from both
sides.
Khulshi Police Station
Officer-in-Charge Arifur Rahman said police intervention brought the situation
under control and both groups had left the area.
Reacting strongly to the incident, Chattogram city NCP Member Secretary Arif
Moinuddin demanded the mayor's resignation.
Speaking to the media, he alleged that law and order in the city had
deteriorated since the mayor assumed office and that persistent civic problems,
including waterlogging, remained unresolved. He also claimed there was a
conspiracy to erase memories of the July Uprising and replace the spaces with
advertisements.
However, Chattogram city BNP Member
Secretary Nazimur Rahman denied that BNP activists had gone to the area to
create unrest and urged all sides to help restore calm.
Mayor Shahadat Hossain rejected allegations that the graffiti had been removed.
He said Wasim Akram, regarded as
Chattogram's first martyr of the movement, had been one of his followers and
had personally sent him photos from Muradpur during the protests.
The mayor also said his own
residence had been attacked during the movement, his elderly mother had been
confined, and 16 of his vehicles had been set on fire.
"I consider myself one of the
major sufferers of 5 August," he said.
Shahadat further claimed that the
graffiti had not been erased; rather, posters pasted over the artwork had been
removed. He added that students from various universities and colleges had received
paint and financial support from him for graffiti projects, and that both he
personally and the city corporation had funded several of the artworks.















