The authorities hit any building found to have deviated from the approved design or encroached upon the public space.

Most owners of residential buildings along the avenue were found to have converted their plots into business establishments without permission from the authorities concerned.

These defiant building owners showed disregard to the laws of the land, occupied public spaces to expand their businesses apparently equipped with an 'unwritten immunity' from prosecution. Strong evidences suggest that the encroachments and deviations took place over the years with blessings from a section of Rajuk officials.

As the demolition continued, some influential owners and occupiers of those structures who had so openly defied the laws for years, begged for leniency before a large crowd of curious onlookers.

The Rajuk action was a part of the ongoing drive against the deviators of building rules and occupiers of pedestrian passages.

The Rajuk eviction team led by magistrate ASM Emdadud Dastagir hit around a dozen buildings along the eastern part of the Gulshan Avenue that included names like Desvista, Hosna Centre, Standard Chartered Bank, Shoppers World, Shagun Wedding Mall, Moli Capita Centre, Kumudini and three restaurants Golden Rice, Thai House and Asparagus.

The magistrate said that the owners and occupiers of the buildings have either encroached upon the pedestrian passage or have deviated from the approved design of the building construction. The authorities asked the building owners not to run businesses in residential houses without permission and to open the car parking facilities to public.

The drive began at 12:45 p.m. with removal of building construction materials of an under-construction building named Ridgepark illegally occupying the footpath opposite of Gulshan Agora.

Illegal ornamental work occupying footpath in front of Desvista (Grameen Phone Centre) was destroyed. The two basement car parks of the building were dumped with construction materials. The magistrate ordered the workers to make room for the car parks.

Rajuk's authorised officer Shamsur Rahman and executive engineer Shah Didarul Alam Shamim asked the owners and occupiers of Hosna Centre to wrap up all their offices, as the building has approval of a residential structure.

"The entire building was approved as a residential one but they have illegally converted it into a commercial one," said Shamim, "They even did not follow the rules of a residential building."

The building that houses Standard Chartered Bank on the Gulshan Avenue is a residential one but it has been illegally converted into commercial building. Moreover, the car parks are off-limits to customers. The entire stretch of the avenue in front of the bank remains occupied by scores of vehicles of those who visit the bank round the clock.

Traffic congestion on the spot is so regular that even traffic sergeants on various occasions complained about it.

The eviction team removed an iron staircase and a concrete fencing to clear a car park area in front of the bank. Owner of the building Hafizuddin Ahmed rushed to the spot but could not produce any documents for commercial set up.

Though Moli Capita Centre has kept two basement car park facilities, the building owner was found occupying one floor as a warehouse. The owner used the footpath for parking and installed ornamental structures. Rajuk demolished the structure on footpath and asked to remove the warehouse immediately.

The team then pulled down all commercial signboards put up on the building of Shagun Wedding Mall, and also demolished an illegal high-rise foundation at the site. Its owner SM Waliur Rahman could not produce any documents for converting the building into a commercial facility. It also demolished an illegal portion of Kumudini building and asked their officials to remove a huge signboard.

The occupiers of Shoppers World had to remove their commercial set ups, as the building is a residential one and has no permission for commercial use. The authorities demolished the glass windows in front of the building and pulled down its illegal signboard.

"No commercial establishments in residential buildings like Shoppers World can run business unless they obtain approval of a design for commercial building," said Shamsur Rahman.

All three buildings that house three restaurants; Thai House, Golden Rice and Asparagus, are residential. But those have been illegally converted into commercial buildings.

The eviction team pulled down illegal portions of all three buildings and the Rajuk officials asked the restaurant owner not to run business in residential houses without permission for commercial conversion.

The team also removed illegal structures, encroaching upon the pavement by the Mercantile Bank. The bank authority could not produce any document in support of converting the residential house into a commercial one.