Korail: organising to stay

Court and eviction reporting from 2008 to 2017

Residents and rights organisations sought tenure protection through legal action, but court orders did not prevent every demolition.

The pressure

Pushed out

A 2008 High Court order required rehabilitation before eviction. Authorities nevertheless demolished about 2,000 structures on 4 April 2012. A new petition halted further demolition.

shiree and DSK, Moving Backwards: Korail Slum Eviction (2012); IRIN, 40,000 slum residents face eviction (22 May 2012).

Squeezed out

The settlement occupied government land in Mohakhali, next to Gulshan and Banani. The Daily Star reported syndicates selling illegal utility connections in 2017. Sources disagreed on the land area and did not establish a land-value figure.

Dhaka Tribune, What awaits Korail residents? (25 December 2016); The Daily Star, Korail slum: goons eating up public resources (9 July 2017); Himal Southasian, Clearing Korail (11 May 2012).

What people did

  • ASK and BLAST petitioned the High Court in April 2012 alongside BRAC, the Coalition of the Urban Poor, DSK, Nijera Kori and five residents.
  • Their petition halted further demolition after the 4 April eviction.

What held

Court orders and legal action delayed eviction without settling tenure. A 2014 ICT Division report proposed resettlement options, including 1,545 flats for long-term residents, which rights groups questioned. The Daily Star reported about 100,000 residents in 2017; estimates from other dates varied widely.

What didn't

Delays did not establish secure tenure or remove environmental risks.

What you can borrow

Sources

Sources: shiree/DSK (2012), IRIN (22 May 2012), Himal Southasian (11 May 2012), Dhaka Tribune (25 December 2016) and The Daily Star (9 July 2017). The 2012 writ number was inconsistent in the report and is not reproduced. These sources do not establish events after 2017 or a climate-adaptation programme.