"The huge lands of railway had long been illegally occupied by the slum dwellers there, and they erected houses, shops and tea stalls flouting the law," said Divisional Estate Officer Mobarak Ullah, who led the daylong eviction drive of Bangladesh Railway Eastern Zone.

"We had no choice but to go for the eviction yesterday as our repeated reminders and notices over months fell on deaf ears."

The railway bulldozers, accompanied by two platoons from Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) and railway security men, demolished the illegal establishments during the over five-hour drive starting from 10:00am.

The eviction however caused little commotion among the slum dwellers, most of whom are rickshaw-pullers, day labourers and small vendors.

Locals meanwhile alleged that the railway authorities overlooked another slum, opposite the demolished one, because of the pressure from some politically influential quarters.

Estate Officer Mobarak countered the allegation saying, "That slum would also be evicted soon."

Later in the afternoon, nearly two hundred slum dwellers, mostly females, took to the streets protesting the eviction. They held a rally in front of the Chittagong Press Club demanding their immediate rehabilitation.