HC bans Elevated Expressway construction work over Panthakunja Park, Hatirjheel
The High Court also directed that the park be kept open for public use
The High Court has imposed a ban on the construction of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway in parts of Hatirjheel and Panthakunja Park, adjacent to Hotel Sonargaon, directing that the park be kept open for public use.
The bench of Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Biswajit Debnath passed the order today (10 September), following a public interest writ petition.
Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua represented the writ in court on behalf of the petitioners.
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Earlier, nine petitioners, including Professor Anu Muhammad, Professor Giti Ara Nasreen, Professor Adil Muhammad Khan, Professor Samina Luthfa, writer Firoz Ahmed, researcher Pavel Partha, advocate Mahbubul Alam Tahin, and Bangladesh Tree Protection Movement coordinators Nayeem Ul Hasan and Amirul Rajib jointly filed this writ petition, seeking to stop the construction of the expressway at Panthakunja and Hatirjheel.
The petitioners argued that work on the proposed connecting road from the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC) to Palashi has already damaged the environment of Hatirjheel and Panthakunja Park.
They warned that if the project continues, it will severely affect the environment and traffic system in areas like Kathalbagan, Katabon, Nilkhet, Palashi, Dhaka University and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.
They also noted that if the connecting road's construction is not cancelled, traffic congestion at the Saarc Fountain, Banglamotor, Katabon, Elephant Road, Nilkhet and Palashi intersections will worsen significantly.
Furthermore, they said, the revised design shifts the expressway route from commercial areas to dense residential neighbourhoods, even passing close to children's schools.
Despite objections from Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), Dhaka South City Corporation, urban planners, environmentalists, experts and locals, the previous government did not cancel the controversial road project, they added.
