Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha has not yet started construction of ‘Rajuk Central Park Gulshan’ for which it had demolished Wonderland Amusement Park for children in May 2012.
More than one year already passed but the development authorities failed to do anything in this regard, alleged residents of that area. Shaheda Manzur, a banker and resident of Gulshan 2, told New Age, ‘We never support encroachment but what Rajuk did in one year is totally frustrating. They did not even clear the space.’
She said they used to pass their holiday afternoon with their kids in Wonderland Park, and when it was demolished, the children as well as the guardians were frustrated as they did not have any more entertainment spot in the area to pass their holidays.
During a visit, it was seen that some workers were building boundary wall, sand has been brought to level the land and due to rain the space was full of mud and that’s all.
‘In the capital, scarcity of park, open space, greeneries and playfield is known to all and every parent suffers for that. In such a condition, the eviction decision of Rajuk was too wrong as they lacked the capability to build a park like Wonderland,’ said another resident Mostafa Sharukh.
Rajuk on May 7, 2012 began demolishing the then Wonderland Amusement Park for encroaching on Dhaka City Corporation land following a May 3 order of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.
Rajuk’s magistrate Rokon-ud-Doula conducted the drive, following the court order that declared illegal the lease of the land by the erstwhile Dhaka City Corporation on which the park was built.
After demolishing Wonderland Park, Rajuk took a plan to turn the children’s amusement park into an open park, said a Rajuk engineer.
As deigns, submitted by two companies, were not accepted, architects of Rajuk prepared the design for the proposed Rajuk Central Park Gulshan, he said.
Rajuk assistant director (architecture) Mostak Ahmed told New Age that they had designed the proposed park’s landscape architecture with open space, senior citizens’ corner, kids’ zone, an amphitheatre, a food court, souvenir shop, playground, washrooms parking space for 118 cars and security box.
He said it would be a disabled-friendly park with ramp for the persons with disabilities.
Rajuk executive engineer Nurul Islam told New Age that the then Dhaka Improvement Trust authority handed over the land to Gulshan Pourashava in 1972.
In 1990, the Dhaka City Corporation gave the land on lease to Via Media Limited for establishing Wonderland Amusement Park.
He said that MA Reja, a resident of Gulshan area, had filed a case with the High Court challenging its legality in 1995.
The High Court declared Wonderland Amusement Park illegal and ordered Rajuk to remove all structures from the land and to make it open to people and Rajuk carried the order.
Rajuk engineer said that very soon they would start construction work of the open park.
He said the Wonderland Park was built occupying around four acres of land of the Gulshan Central Playground.
He claimed that Rajuk already built the boundary walls of the park.
-With New Age input
