PM launches Dhaka-Aricha highway greening drive
The initiative aims to improve the environment and enhance the beauty of the highway, where roadside areas have long been used as dumping grounds for waste.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman today (18 October) launched a greening and beautification programme along both sides of the Dhaka-Aricha highway by planting a sapling at Aminbazar while returning to Dhaka from Savar Cantonment.
The initiative aims to improve the environment and enhance the beauty of the highway, where roadside areas had long been used as dumping grounds for waste.
"Those of you who live here know what this place looked like two months ago. And look at how it has changed in just about two months. For people living along this four-kilometre stretch, the area is now not only pleasant to look at, but it has also become easier to breathe in a better environment," he said.
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The prime minister thanked Farida Khanam and the officials and employees involved in the project.
"If people cooperate with the government, environmentally harmful problems can gradually be resolved, allowing people to breathe freely," he said.
For nearly two decades, waste had been dumped beside the Dhaka-Aricha highway in Aminbazar, creating piles as high as 30 feet and causing severe environmental pollution and foul odours.
Last July, while travelling to Singair in Manikganj to inspect the Bangladesh Army's monsoon exercise, the prime minister witnessed the waste dump and instructed State Minister for Local Government Mir Shah-e-Alam to take immediate action.
Under the supervision of Dhaka Deputy Commissioner Farida Khanam, the waste was removed over three months with assistance from Savar Upazila Parishad and the municipality.
Following the cleanup, the land was prepared, palisading was installed to protect the soil, and 20 surface drains and a service shed were constructed. Napier, Bermuda and other grasses were planted to prevent soil erosion.
The garden stretches nearly four kilometres and is 10 to 25 metres wide. It contains 6,585 trees and ornamental plants, including 1,050 neem trees, 3,815 areca nut trees, 60 palmyra trees, 650 Madhabilata plants, 45 Syzygium plants and 700 Rangan plants.
The project also includes a 2-kilowatt solar panel and a 1-kilowatt wind turbine, with a combined power generation capacity of 3 kilowatts. A total of 120 electric lights have been installed to illuminate the garden at night.
BNP Standing Committee member and local MP Amanullah Aman, State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Mir Shahe Alam and State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock Sultan Salauddin Tuku were present.
