Rajuk recovers land to build walkway near Gulshan Lake

Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) yesterday demolished around 20 illegal structures and recovered a piece of land stretching from Shahjadpur to Mariam Tower near Gulshan Lake.

A walkway will be constructed on the recovered land (around 700-foot long and 50-foot wide) adjoining the bank of the Gulshan Lake by the next three months, said Housing and Public Works Minister Mosharraf Hossain, while talking to reporters during the drive.

There were many water bodies in Gulshan when it was built as a residential area; to protect the water bodies and environment in Gulshan, a lake was dug there at that time, he said.

But at different times, different governments allotted plots to their own party men and relatives filling the lake partially, the minister said, adding that Awami League government in 1996 had taken initiatives to recover the lake.

The minister said they are now investigating whether Mariam Tower, which was built on a land allotted by the BNP government during its tenure in 1991-1996, has occupied any additional land illegally. Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Annisul Huq, lawmaker AKM Rahmat Ullah, and Rajuk Chairman M Bazlul Karim Chowdhury were present, among others.

Meanwhile, Rajuk in another drive removed 37 shops which were constructed at the place of a parking lot, and also demolished four columns of two buildings for constructing without any plan at South Pirerbagh in Mirpur.

The drive led by executive magistrate Khandokar Aliur Rahman also demolished 16 ramps in the area to create scope of smooth vehicular movement.