As part of its ongoing expansion of trade operations, the BDR is building 50 such grocery shops across the city to offer the city dwellers essential commodities at fair prices on a paramagnet basis, said BDR officials.

BDR has already hired a consultant, Lt. Col. (Rtd) Kamal Ahmed, for setting up the outlets at various open spaces of the city, said the officials July 10.

According to Kamal Ahmed, BDR's venture into the market operations for fair prices would eventually 'beat' the 'inefficient' traders in the market.

"Now-a-days, we are going out after midnight around the city to select sites for our shops, which would be completed before the Ramadan to enable citizens to buy commodities at fair prices," said Ahmed.

Ahmed said that they would set up shops over an area of around 4, 000 square feet at Eidgah and convert the remainder of the approximately 20, 000-square foot plot into a park, where benches, and a coffee shop would be set up.

The structure, which has not been constructed with involvement of any architect at Dhanmondi Eidgah, will remain as it is for time being for next six months, Ahmed said on 11 July.

"Later, we will reconstruct it," he said.

Public Works Department has earmarked the spot for a public park. Its design was finalised last year but delay in getting allocation has held back initiation of work. The Department of Arboriculture is supposed to do the job.

The 350-year-old Dhanmondi Eid congregation is one of the two similar Eidgahs built in mid 17th century during the Mughal period in the subcontinent. The other Eidgah can be found in Delhi.