For a greener Dhaka
A livable city
should have 25 per cent of its total area covered with greenery. Unfortunately Dhaka has barely five per cent greeneries for lack of
regular plantation and maintenance of the
existing ones
It is heartening to note that Dhaka south and north city corporations have taken a number of programmes to bring their open spaces under greenery coverage through massive plantations as the capital is gradually getting denuded of its greeneries due to unplanned development works.
According to a report in this newspaper yesterday, as part of the programmes, the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) will rejuvenate their existing parks and beautify footbridges and main thoroughfares with trees and flowering plants.
Besides, they are focusing on bringing most houses in the capital under rooftop gardening by encouraging people with holding tax rebate and providing logistic supports like soil, pots and fertiliser.
Though a livable city should have 25 per cent greeneries of its total area, capital Dhaka has barely five per cent greeneries for lack of regular plantation and maintenance of the existing ones, and unplanned urbanization. There was a time when Dhaka had a vast stretch of greeneries. Dhaka University was set up in a picturesque part of the city known as Ramna on 600 acres of land. Before the partition of the Indian sub-continent in 1947, celebrated teachers of Dhaka University like RC Majumder, Satyendranath Bose, Amalendu Bose, Haridas Bhattacharya and Haraprasad Sastri would enjoy the proximity of nature by strolling in the parks rich in shadowy trees.
With the passage of time Dhaka has expanded both horizontally and vertically with its burgeoning population. Scores of trees that would serve as lungs of the city vanished due to mindless logging dealing a serious blow to environment and ecology. Many parks and open spaces ceased to exit due massive encroachment perpetrated by unscrupulous people. Unplanned growth of the city also took its toll on the greenery. The busy mega-city is now full of traffic snarls, smokes and dusts. Commercialisation gained ground while aesthetic sense took a back seat. This is really painful and mind-boggling.
The situation warrants extensive measures to bring back the lost greeneries of Dhaka city. The initiatives of the two city corporations deserve plaudits. What is needed now is the quick implementation of the programmes. Mere rhetoric will not do. There are many parks under the city corporations but most of those are being neglected. Improvement of those is the demand of the time.
