Grey concrete to cover 37% of Suhrawardy Udyan: BIP
Planners also suggested amendments and refinements of the project plan through doing the necessary environmental studies
In a proposed design of the Suhrawardy Udyan development project, infrastructure, concrete and grey areas have devoured 37 of the historic grounds in the capital, finds a survey virtually released on Sunday by the Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP).
The planners called for stopping without any delay, the project work which has already sparked an uproar across the country from people in all walks of life, particularly environmentalists.
In an eight-point proposal, the BIP leaders also suggested amendments and refinements of the project plan by conducting the necessary environmental studies.
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As per design, the planners said, infrastructure, concrete, and grey areas will end taking up 52% of Osmani Udyan, 37% of Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed Park in Gulshan, and 42% of Banani Park.
The survey report on designs adopted for the recent beautification and development of grounds and parks in Dhaka city was presented at a planning dialogue on "Garden-Park Development Project and Nature-Environmental Protection".
According to the BIP survey, the infrastructure, concrete, and grey areas are growing at an alarming rate through the garden-park development project, while the amount of green areas is decreasing at a worrying pace.
In the dialogue, BIP leaders said that recently the nature of the parks and gardens is being changed by giving excessive infrastructure and using concrete without giving priority to nature, environment, and ecosystems in the planning and design of various parks and gardens in urban areas such as Dhaka.
This anti-environmental and anti-public interest tendency is not only seen in the design of the Suhrawardy Udyan, but also in many contemporary parks and public buildings such as the Osmani Udyan in recent times, which is of great concern from a planning, environmental and social point of view.
Professor Adil Mohammad Khan, general secretary of BIP, moderated the programme with the organisation's President Professor Akhtar Mahmud in the chair.
BIP Vice-President Md Ariful Islam, Joint Secretary Mohammad Russell Kabir, and Dhaka Detailed Area Planning Project Director Md Ashraful Islam, among other experts, were present at the programme.
