Who is staying at official residence for opposition leader?

Public Works Department’s cleaner Kamal Hossain, 50, resides in a semi-pucca house inside House 29 on Minto Road in the capital. The house is designated for the leader of the opposition in the parliament. However, the building has remained empty for more than two decades.

Kamal Hossain came from Vikrampur in Munshiganj. He has been living in that tin-shed house for the last 17 years with his family.

His responsibility is to keep the house clean. He told Prothom Alo he has an underachievement that no one for whom the house is designated, has lived in this house. So there is no guardian of the house. He said he would feel lucky if he got the chance to serve any of the opposition leaders during his service time.

Another man named Lal Mia, 55, also lives in the tin-shed room inside the house designated for the leader of the opposition. He has been living here for eight years and is a gardener by profession.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Lal Mia said the house would have been vibrant had the opposition leader lived there. Political activists would visit the place every day, he said.

Visiting the house, this correspondent found that although the leader of the opposition doesn’t live here, at least 30 people live in the tin-shed rooms inside the building. They work under different departments of the government.

Minto Road is one of the safest areas in the capital. It is also known as the ministers’ quarters. As per the Department of Public Works, the house was constructed for the government officials over a 2.5-acre land during the British period. The house was later designated for the leader of the opposition after independence.

Lastly, then opposition leader Khaleda Zia moved in the house in 1996. The house was allotted to her till 2001. The house has remained empty since then.

The house is mostly worn-out nowadays. The Public Works Department has no plan right now to renovate the house as the opposition leader doesn’t live here.

The house is surrounded by the official residences of cabinet secretary, inspector general of police (IGP), Dhaka divisional commissioner, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) commissioner, a justice, an election commissioner, foreign secretary, state minister for the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment and the deputy commissioner (DC) of Dhaka.

This correspondent visited the house on 27 February and found the main gate of the house open. There were various types of trees in front of the house and the lawn was grassed.

However, it was completely the opposite inside the house. Several doors and windows of the house were broken. Most of the furniture inside the house was unusable. The garage of the house was also worn-out. In all, the house is not usable now.

The public works department says it would take three months to renovate the house. There were bushes in several places of the house. Apart from that, there were also various types of fruit trees and winter vegetables inside the house. Lal Mia and Kamal Hossain planted these trees and vegetables.

There were several semi-pucca tin-shed houses in the rear part of the house. Several families live there, including the families of gardener Lal Mia, cleaner Kamal Hossain and plumber Akram Hossain.

This correspondent spoke to a certain Raihan Ahmed. He said he is affiliated with the mosquito extermination drives run by the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC).  He has been living here for the last one year. He used to live in a room inside Ramna Park. He moved in here after that room in Ramna Park was evicted.

Speaking to several residents of those tin-shed rooms, it has been learnt that two of the tin-shed rooms have been rented out to 10 bachelors, who work at different departments of the government. Those who live with their families in these tin-shed rooms include a security guard of the Osmani Udyan, driver of a supervising engineer at the Public Works Departments and the imam of a mosque in the Minto road area. In all, some 30 people, including the bachelors and families, live there.

According to the Public Works Department, following the parliamentary elections in 2014, the then leader of the opposition Raushan Ershad wrote to the Ministry of Housing and Public Works seeking allocation for the house. However, that was not done. Then again, after the general elections of 2018, the then leader of the opposition Hussain Muhammad Ershad sent a letter seeking the allotment for the house. Following that, the house was allotted to him. However, he didn’t move in there.

Lastly, after the 12th national polls held on 7 January, opposition leader GM Quader wrote to the Ministry of Housing and Public Works seeking the allocation for the house. He is yet to get that.

According to the Department of Public Works, the house designated for the leader of the opposition is currently occupied by the cleaner, gardener and plumber of the house. There is no scope for others to live there. However, they believe someone is taking advantage as the house has remained empty for a long time.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, public works department’s executive engineer Mahbub Hasan said the house has been unoccupied for a long time. Taking advantage of this, some outsiders are living there. They will have to leave as soon as the opposition leader moves in that house.

Speaking regarding renovating the house, “There is no benefit in renovating the house as no one lives there. We will renovate the house before the opposition leader moves in.”

*This report appeared on the print and online versions of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Ashish Basu