Experts urge cancellation of Panthakunja ramp, warn of environmental damage and worsening traffic

Urban planners and environmental experts have expressed concern that the proposed ramp at Panthakunja Park, as part of the FDC-Palashi section of the Elevated Expressway, would not only damage the environment of Hatirjheel but also significantly worsen traffic congestion and public suffering in several key areas of the capital.

They said the project could harm Panthakunja Park and the Hatirjheel waterbody, while creating major environmental and traffic management challenges in Kathalbagan, Katabon, Nilkhet, Palashi, Dhaka University and Buet areas.

The observations came at a roundtable discussion held at the Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP) auditorium in Banglamotor today (25 July).

The event was jointly organised by the Urban Studies Foundation, the Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change, the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at Buet, Bangladesh Tree Protection Movement, BIP and Duniadari Archive.

Speakers at the discussion said development cannot be considered meaningful if it focuses only on human convenience, as human survival is inseparable from nature. They stressed that the environmental impact of development projects must be given equal importance during implementation.

The keynote paper was presented by Bangladesh Tree Protection Movement coordinators Amirul Rajib and Naeem Ul Hasan.

They said court directives prohibit the construction of any structure around Panthakunja Park. However, the previous Awami League government did not comply with those directives. They added that the interim government did not halt the work, while the current BNP government has also not taken any effective initiative in this regard.

They also said continued tree felling in the Panthakunja and Hatirjheel areas for the project would eventually make Dhaka uninhabitable.

At the roundtable, urban planner Professor Adil Muhammad Khan called for cancelling the Elevated Expressway ramp at the Panthakunja Park section.

He said the ramp would severely affect the environment and traffic movement in Panthakunja Park, the Hatirjheel waterbody, Dhaka University, Buet and surrounding areas, while its benefits would mainly go to private car users.

He also questioned why the government had not responded effectively despite a long-running movement demanding the cancellation of the ramp.

Calling on the government to give importance to public opinion, he urged it to scrap the ramp. He also said it was necessary to investigate whether any irregularities or corruption had occurred in the project during the previous government's tenure.

Kathalbagan resident Sadman Sakib said the densely populated area lacks open spaces or playgrounds where residents could take shelter during disasters such as earthquakes.

He said Panthakunja Park is the only remaining refuge, but it is now at risk of shrinking because of the Elevated Expressway and unplanned development projects. He urged the government to reconsider the project, taking public interest into account.

Urban planner Professor Akhtar Mahmud said Dhaka is heading towards severe public suffering because of the lack of planned urban management.

He said several meetings had been held with advisers and officials of the interim government regarding the movement to protect Panthakunja Park, but no solution had been reached.

He also proposed establishing a separate "Park and Recreation Authority" to protect parks and wetlands in Dhaka.

BIP Vice-President Sheikh Muhammad Mehdi Ahsan said it is time to question how realistic the goal of building a clean and green Dhaka is without structural reforms to Rajuk and the city corporations, under whose supervision the capital has become one of the world's least liveable cities.

Writer and thinker Firoz Ahmed said administrative decisions and management, rather than the public, are primarily responsible for the destruction of parks and waterbodies.

He called for ensuring public participation in the planning process and urged both experts and citizens to become more vocal on the issue.

Buet Professor Dr Abdul Hasib Chowdhury said preserving urban open spaces has become increasingly difficult because of limitations in the existing legal and institutional framework.

He said reforms to laws and policies based on public interest are essential.

The discussion, moderated by BIP General Secretary Professor Musleh Uddin Hasan, was also addressed by Buet Professor Abdul Hasib Chowdhury, urban and regional planner Khandaker Niaz Rahman, writer and political organiser Firoz Ahmed, Bengal Stream chief curator Niklaus Graber, Urban Development Journalists Forum President Motin Abdullah and others.