Gulshan lake
Land-grabbers active as no walkways yet
Long delays in the construction of walkways on the banks of the Gulshan-Banani Lake have allowed land-grabbers to continue encroaching on the lake.
In May, following a writ petition filed by Omar Sadat, a resident of the area, the High Court ruled that the relevant authorities should demolish all unauthorised structures and construct walkways around the lake which, in 2001, was designated an ‘ecologically critical area.’
Officials in Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha told New Age that it would take another two or three months before work was started in the construction of the walkways.
Locals say that land-grabbers continue dumping waste and garbage in the lake.
‘At first, a stretch of the bank is filled in with garbage and waste and then the grabbers start dumping sand and bricks in the area,’ Mushfiqur Rahman, a local of Gulshan 1, said.
‘When they do not face any obstruction, they build makeshift rooms and rent them out to slum dwellers,’ he said.
Numerous tin-shed rooms were seen built along the lake in Shahjadpur area while earth filling was witnessed near roads 31, 32 and 33 in Gulshan 1.
Several plots have been developed on the bank of the lake near road 23 of Gulshan in the last two years. The land-grabbers have also constructed a road to the plots which they have given a fake number – 23/C.
Locals said RAJUK men had turned a blind eye to the activities of land-grabbers.
But RAJUK officials denied the charge saying that it had already given notices to the owners of unlawfully built structures.
‘The land grabbers are desperate to fill up a significant portion of the lake before construction of the walkways starts,’ said Omar who filed the petition with the High Court.
When contacted, RAJUK chairman Nurul Huda said that the Executive Committee of National Economic Council had recently approved construction of the walkways, ‘But we could not start work of the project as the planning commission is yet to disburse the fund.’
‘Meanwhile, we have made preparations for floating the tender for the construction. As soon as we get the fund, we will start the process of acquiring lands to implement the project,’ Nurul Huda said.
RAJUK’S chief engineer Khondker Salahuddin said the project would cost a total of Tk 410 crore, including acquisition of lands.
Save the Environment Movement chairman Abu Naser Khan attributed the delay in construction of the walkways to a ‘vested quarter’ active to encroach on the lake.
‘Walkways along Gulshan-Banani-Baridhara lake should have been constructed much earlier to protect it from land-grabbers,’ he said. ‘Opportunities to grab Dhanmondi lake have been reduced to a great extent after construction of walkways on its banks.’
He, however, opposed construction of a road network around the lake which, he said, would cause damage to the environment of the lake.
The green activist also called on the authorities concerned to take prompt action to stop dumping of garbage, waste and sewage in the lake, apart from starting construction of the walkways.
