Gulshan residents demand quick completion

Gulshan residents yesterday demanded that the construction of a two-kilometre road along the capital's Gulshan-Baridhara lake linking Baridhara and Badda be immediately completed, saying it would greatly help to reduce the horrendous traffic congestion on Gulshan Avenue.

They also demanded to first ensuring a stop to dumping of human excrement and solid waste in the Gulshan-Baridhara and Gulshan-Banani lakes before cleaning the water bodies.

Facilitating road connectivity with the Hatirjheel project near the national shooting federation, the road's construction was halted over land claim disputes at a Shahjadpur section, the society President ATM Shamsul Huda told a press conference to press home the demands.

While Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) has to ensure septic tanks at every house, Dhaka Water Supply & Sewerage Authority has to install a modern sewage disposal system to save the environment, said the former chief election commissioner.

With no septic tanks, many Gulshan, Baridhara and Banani households have connected their excrement disposal pipes to storm water drains, causing untreated sewage to end up in the lakes, he added.

The society embarked on removing aquatic weeds from the lakes to control mosquito menace marking the ensuing monsoon.

The construction over a 300-metre stretch has been halted for a case 17 claimants filed over the acquisition of 11 acres of land, said Rajuk's Gulshan-Baridhara-Banani Lake Development and Beautification project's Director Manwarul Islam.

The revised project proposal worth Tk 2,700 crore to develop, conserve and beautify the four kilometre Gulshan-Banani and two kilometre Gulshan-Baridhara lakes includes sludge removal and construction of a driveway, walkway and eight bridges.

Of the cost, Tk 1,800 crore has been earmarked for land acquisition, said Manwarul, adding that with the government yet to approve the project, Rajuk has so far spent Tk 100 crore on lake development.

A number of Gulshan Society office bearers and residents were present at the conference.