Spare us this beautification, please!
A few years back, as I was walking past the National Museum in the cool afternoon breeze, I stopped under the shade of a huge tree. As I looked up at the leaves in an attempt to recognise the tree, I heard someone say, "Pagol naki?" ("Is she insane?") I turned around to find three young men on a rickshaw, bursting out in laughter. I had almost forgotten the incident. But when a friend, a regular commuter on Airport Road, told me with frustration that a large number of trees on that road had been cut and replaced with strange looking bonsai trees, I instantly recalled that incident.
The news that 500 bonsai trees imported from China and Taiwan are being planted on a 6 kilometre road from Banani flyover to Shahjalal International Airport as part of a beautification project didn't surprise me at all. It rather reminded me that we have a history of this kind of beautification. I still remember how the Dhaka North City Corporation took an initiative to beautify the central reservations of some important roads with concrete structures, uprooting the plants and saplings placed there, ahead of the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup in 2014.
This effort of 'beautification' also reminds me of the construction of ugly and disproportionate sculptures at different points of Dhaka over the years. The sculpture of a tiger at Karwan Bazar (not there at present, thankfully), the sculpture of elephants at the Science Lab intersection, the horse-cart sculpture near Sonargoan Hotel, etc., are some of the examples of the horror inflicted upon the public in the name of beautification. Can anyone even relate to these structures which do not reflect an iota of our rich culture and heritage? What is more horrifying is that the disproportionate tiger sculpture, which was built as part of a beautification project ahead of the ICC Cricket Tournament in 2011, killed a poor rickshaw puller when it collapsed on him.
We have learnt that the Roads and Highways Department has hired the advertising firm, Vinyl World Group, for the bonsai beautification project. If any of you have been to the Jahangirnagar University campus lately, you must have seen a lotus sculpture in the middle of a lake, and wondered how such an unpleasant looking object could be part of a campus that is famous for its abundant naturally grown water lilies. The concrete lotus is just one example of this firm's work. In 2014, this firm also undertook the renovation work of the central reservation of the road starting from Jahangir Gate to Kakoli intersection, where they used bathroom and kitchen tiles on the concrete structures!
Coming back to the bonsai beautification project, we are worried for a number of reasons. First, a large number of fully grown local trees (Krishnochura, Jarul, Radhachura, Nageshwar), which had lined the 6 km road for the last 20 to 25 years, had to be cut down to make way for the imported trees. According to environmentalists, this was done in the darkness of night, most likely to avoid any confrontation with the public. The authorities explained that the trees had to be cut down to make way for wider footpaths. However, this seems like a flimsy excuse, as with foresight and a proper planning process, the footpaths could have been wider but not at the expense of these trees. And we could accept narrow footpaths at some points of the road, but how can we accept a road without trees? The whole road now looks like a desert; thanks to this 'beautification'.
Second, why do we have to import foreign trees which are so expensive, fragile and so difficult to take care of? Let's not talk about how bizarre they look on our roads. Apparently, these 15-20 feet tall saplings had to be brought to the country in a Tk 3 crore container, and Tk. 2 to 3 lakh has already been spent for each trees. Bonsai moreover, is an indoor plant and it can't live and grow on roadsides. Dust would gather on the leaves and eventually the leaves will die. As Dhaka's surface water level is very low, these trees have to be watered regularly and special care has to be taken of the leaves. Experts argue that these bonsai trees are most likely not going to live for more than two years. We have heard that Krishnochura would be planted alongside the bonsai trees. But if there is a full grown Krishnochura tree beside a bonsai, the bonsai will not get enough sunlight to survive. And since the roots of the bonsai do not go further than a foot under the surface level, what if any of these trees collapses on some pedestrian during a nor'wester?
Third, the firm's assurance that five lakh local trees will be planted on that road sounds like a joke. We have to do some simple math to know that this is not doable. There is not just enough space there to plant such a massive number of trees. Was it then said just to placate the public?
Fourth, if we plant five lakh ornamental plants, will they be able to remove much carbon from our air? Can big trees be replaced by shrubs and ornamental plants? According to Dr. AFM Jamaluddin, Professor, Department of Horticulture, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka's temperature is usually 7 to 8 degrees higher than in the villages. The level of CO2 is increasing and the level of O2 is decreasing in the city's air. When the carbon level in the air is more than 0.04 percent, people face difficulty breathing, but the carbon level in Dhaka's air is .01 to .02 percent higher than the ideal level.
Considering the weather and temperature of Dhaka, while residents regard planting trees as the most environment-friendly and sustainable option for a city makeover, our city corporations and the firms given the charge of beautifying the city seem to believe in the contrary.
We have so many organisations working for improving Dhaka's environment, but sadly there is no coordination among them. What we should do is involve our urban planners, landscape architects, historians, horticulturists, environmentalists in such projects if we really want to see anything beautiful happening to this city.
Last week, while passing the Airport Road, I told my auto-rickshaw driver to stop, and got down to take a close look at the bonsai trees. The driver said, "These trees came from China." I smiled at him. He then remarked, "How come trees look like that? Will they give shade to people?" When ordinary people of this country quite clearly realise the uselessness of these bonsai trees in our city, why is it that the authorities concerned fail to understand this? I guess the kind of people who consider looking at a tree an act of insanity are on the rise in this unfortunate country.
The writer is a member of the Editorial Department, The Daily Star.