Food court in Bahadur Shah Park!
Surrounded by greenery on all sides, Bahadur Shah Park stands proud with its rich history and enriched architectural features at Old Dhaka's Laxmibazar.
The place was known as Victoria Park, named after Queen Victoria, former Queen of the British Empire. Later in 1957, the park was renamed after the last Mughal emperor, Mirza Abu Zafar Sirajuddin Muhammad Bahadur Shah Zafar, popularly known as Bahadur Shah II.
In 1857, during the Sepoy Mutiny against colonial rulers, English soldiers publicly executed the captured mutineers by hanging them from different trees of the place.
There are two memorials at the park entrances. The tallest one is situated at the eastern side, in memory of the martyred sepoys.
As baffling as it may sound, rather than preserving the place by keeping its glory intact, Dhaka South City Corporation is mulling to construct a food court at the place.
A metal structure has already been set up in the middle of the park, but it could not be completed due to huge protests from concerned citizens.
Every day, thousands of people visit the park for exercising and leisure activities.
Upendra Nath Biswas, councillor of ward-36, said this is a historical heritage, setting up a food court here will harm its sanctity.
"We are totally against it, as a food court in the middle of the park will destroy the park's aesthetic and reduce its space," he added.
Md Elias Hossain, an advocate of Bangladesh Supreme Court, said they conducted some yearly programmes at the park marking significant events of the nation's history. This food court will hamper such programmes, he said.
The advocate also highlighted how construction of a food court will mean one less playground for the area's children.
Aktharuzzaman Khan, general secretary of Jatiya Ganotantric Front, who, along with many others, is protesting the move, said contractors first took initiative to set up the structure for the food court in the second week of September.
Initially, students broke the structure and the contractor set it up again with the help of local administration, he said.
Akhtaruzzaman said locals are protesting the move by holding human chains and rallies.
He said if the park turns into a business centre in the name of a food court, it will ruin its main spirit.
Adil Mohammad Khan, former general secretary of Bangladesh Institute of Planners, said, "Leasing out open spaces of the capital for commercial use has become a common tendency of city corporation, as the same thing can be seen in Suhrawardy Udyan."
Contacted, Ward-42 Councillor Mohammad Selim said a food court is being constructed taking the permission of DSCC.
The project-in-charge will take care of the park, set up CCTV cameras, set up more lights and conduct cleaning activities.
"We are failing to protect the park for which the city corporation has given the responsibility to a contractor," he said.
The councillor didn't disclose the name of the contractor. He, however, said the name of the company is DAR Holding Limited.
Contacted, Chief Estate Officer of DSCC Md Rasel Sabrin, said they have given permission for a makeshift food court, not any permanent structure.
"No permanent structure will be allowed there and we've instructed the contractor to remove the iron structure," he said.
Rasel explained they have permitted a design for a movable food van, by consulting with architect Rafique Azam.
DSCC took up a mega project in 2016 during the tenure of former mayor Sayeed Khokon, involving 70 architects to modernise 19 parks and 12 playgrounds including Bahadur Shah park under its jurisdiction.
The park was developed under the guidance of Md Rafiq Azam, principal architect of "Shatto", an architecture firm and consultant team leader of the mega project and there was no food court in the initial designs.
Comments