Dirty place turns beautiful lake
The dirtiest place in Tangail town, previously known as 'District Lake,' has turned into a most beautiful place, and has been renamed 'DC Lake.'
Cabinet Secretary Shafiul Alam will inaugurate the newly built set-up tomorrow.
The district administration implemented the project in one year on 33.45 acres of government khas land beside Tangail Circuit House.
Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Tangail Mahbub Hossain said the lake was used for waste dumping and criminal activities, adding that influential quarters had also built different structures by grabbing the land.
The DC said he wrote to the land ministry last year seeking funds for reviving the water body and beautifying the area around it. The ministry allocated around Tk 3 crore and the work started on May 6 last year, he added.
The lake was re-excavated and fibre plastic boats were arranged for entertaining visitors. Eye-catching sitting places have been constructed, with a two-story viewing deck built in the middle of the lake. As the allocated fund was spent for these arrangements, a local fund was raised under the supervision of the district administration for further development works, the DC said.
There are gardens with flower beds and fruit trees in the area. Six hundred pitchers have been set with trees around the lake for attracting birds. Food corners have also been set up, Mahbub Hossain said.
Plans have been made to build a fountain in the middle of the lake, a swimming pool for teaching children how to swim, a butterfly park and a mini-zoo around it, the DC said.
Additional Deputy Commissioner (Education) Mokhlesur Rahman said there are one university, four government colleges, three government and 16 non-government secondary schools and many primary schools in Tangail Sadar upazila, but there was no place in the town for entertainment of the students.
“Now the children, students and all levels of people have got the facilities, including free WiFi connection, after development of the lake,” he added.
Though the development work is yet to be completed, a large number of people visit the lake every day, especially during the holidays.
Service holder Nizam Uddin of Charabari comes to take a walk along with his wife and children. “Construction of such a place had been our demand for a long time. We thank the deputy commissioner for all these nice arrangements,” he said.
DC Mahbub Hossain said the initiatives to protect the lake and its development were taken following the direction of the government to protect all water bodies in the country. Besides offering entertainment for visitors, the project also employs 20 people, he added.
The DC also expressed his gratitude to the then senior secretary of land ministry Mohammad Shafiul Alam (now cabinet secretary), and officials of the district administration, local politicians and representatives of the civil society for supporting the project.
Comments