Urban planners and experts yesterday lauded the government’s initiative to reclaim land from the Sishumela authority, which has been occupying an area of 1.4 acres in the heart of the city illegally for a long time. They, however, said the land over which the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) has jurisdiction should be transformed into a park or an open space where city residents can spend time to rejuvenate themselves.
Speaking to The Independent, Prof. Dr Sarwar Jahan of the urban planning department of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), said Shishumela used to be a place for recreation for the kids in the city. “But the Shishumela authority has been occupying the land unlawfully. I praise the government’s initiative to reclaim the land from them.” He said the reclaimed land should be used for the benefit of city dwellers. “It should be turned into a park. Dhaka doesn’t have as many open spaces as it should have as a mega city.” DNCC mayor Annisul Haq said the High Court had given a notice to the Shishumela authority to shift all its machines and important instruments. “If it fails to do so on time, the DNCC will do the needful,” Haq said.
“An open park will be built here,” the mayor added. Lauding the mayor’s initiative, Maruf Rahman from Work for Better Bangladesh (WBB) trust said that Dhaka city needs lots of open spaces and parks. “Open spaces in the capital are being continually occupied by the rich and the powerful and there is very little left of them. Shishumela illegally occupied the land, which used to be a place for recreation for the kids. I hope it’ll continue serving in the same way,” he said. He also pointed out that earlier, the government had demolished Wonderland in Gulshan, and promised to turn it into an open park. “The Rajuk park that was built in place of Wonderland didn’t serve the purpose for which it was built. I hope the same won’t happen in the case of Shishumela.”