Redesign of Old Dhaka the way out

Residents in the old part of Dhaka city can attain a modern urban life through implementation of urban renewal concept, said Md Ashraful Islam, project director of Detailed Area Plan (DAP) of Dhaka, yesterday.

“It is just rearrangement of the available land incorporating modern civic amenities with…keeping social character intact,” said the project director, citing the examples of the urban planning concept in Singapore and Japan.

He was sharing the idea with Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Sayeed Khokon at DSCC office.  

Lanes in old Dhaka are very narrow; as a result, people living there are highly vulnerable to any disasters like earthquake or fire incidents as there is a little scope for rescue and evacuation, he said. 

Moreover, there is a lack of storm drainage system, open spaces and playgrounds, said the project director of DAP.

An estimated 1,100 people live in per acre area in the Old Dhaka dotted with chemical warehouses, which may turn devastating any moment, he said.

So the concept of redevelopment with rearranging the existing spaces is the way out for a planned urban development in the Old Dhaka, he said.  

For instance, he said, in a 2.2-acre area in Bongshal, there are 77 structures with 316 dwelling units. If rearranged, the same area can accommodate eight 24-storey buildings with 768 apartments ensuring wide road, car parking facility, commercial spaces, community centre and mosques.    

In another example, he said as per current building rules, an owner of a three-katha land beside a 20-foot wide road in the old part of the city can erect a six-storey building with a 1,296-square-foot floor each. In case of a narrower road, it will be a three- or four-storey building.

But by merging adjoining land plots, the same landowner will get share of the collective benefits of car parking, commercial spaces and some green space, he said, adding that the redevelopment will increase the value of the property.

However, some residents of the old part of the city attending the meeting said they had no trust in Rajdhani Unnyan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) as to how sincerely they would do the complicated job, and called upon them to replicate the idea elsewhere first.

DSCC Mayor Khokon said Rajuk could replicate the idea on a seven-acre land owned by the city corporation in Tantibazar to encourage Old Dhaka residents.

Rajuk Chairman Md Abdur Rahman along with senior officials of Rajuk and the city corporation was present.