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.
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