Why is it taking so long to complete Osmani Udyan’s renovation work?
It is frustrating to learn about the slow progress of the renovation work of Osmani Udyan, one of the major parks of the city. Reportedly, Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) started its renovation work in January 2018, and it was supposed to be completed within 10 months. However, as their renovation plans changed several times, the deadline also had to be extended repeatedly. And with the repeated extension of deadlines, the project cost also increased. Although as per the new deadline, the work should be finished by June this year, we are not sure how they will do so because they still could not start the physical work of the underground parking space. And as the project drags on for years, the city residents are being deprived of an important breathing space.
While we understand the need to renovate the park with modern facilities, we also think that the custodian of the park (in this case, DSCC) must have consulted with urban experts and city planners before starting the work. We also think that they should have done the work with more professionalism. As per their current plan, there will be several structures inside the park that will occupy a lot of space, which goes against our planning rules and regulations, as experts have pointed out. City planners have also raised questions about the need for building the underground parking space which will further shrink the space of the park. Needless to say, for making space for the parking, a large number of age-old trees have to be cut down. Already, many trees have vanished from the park and we cannot afford to lose more.
Since most of the structures have already been built except for the parking space, we think the DSCC authorities should consult with our city planners and take a wise decision regarding its construction. The authorities must remember that it is the greenery and the open spaces that are most important in a park, not modern structures that shrink the open spaces. So they must plant more trees under the project. The greenery of the park must remain intact after the renovation work is complete. Osmani Udyan is among the few open spaces left in the city, and we cannot allow it to be lost to unplanned development work. We hope the authorities will take every decision judiciously and open the park for public use as soon as possible.
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