Urban planners call for stopping earth-filling Hatirjheel for expressway

There is a lack of proper management and coordination in the Dhaka Elevated Expressway project, which is ruining the environment and creating sufferings for the public. Recently, the project authority earth-filled a part of Hatirjheel lake, which is a violation of relevant laws, said urban planners.

If the process is not stopped immediately, the Elevated Expressway project will destroy Hatirjheel, Panthakunja Park, and render the roads leading towards the Palashi area useless, said experts in a webinar on "Planning Impact of Elevated Expressway on Hatirjheel,  Panthakunja Park and Adjacent Areas: IPD Observations" on Sunday.

The Dhaka Elevated Expressway authority is constructing ramps and connecting roads without consulting other stakeholders like the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha, and the Dhaka North and Dhaka South city corporations. Implementing the project without assessing its impacts would ruin Hatirjheel, said Dr Adil Muhammad Khan, executive director of the Institute for Planning and Development, which organised the webinar.

Construction of 41 pillars in the Hatirjheel area for the expressway will ruin the lake. Earth-filling a reservoir is a clear violation of Reservoir Conservation Act and various relevant laws, said Dr Adil Muhammad Khan.

He said, "Developed and modern cities across the world do not resort to building flyovers anymore to solve transport problems. But we are still making flyover-based plans to solve problems in urban areas, which encourage the use of private cars."

Institute for Planning and Development, an organisation of urban planners and policy analysts, said there is absolutely no attempt to take people's opinions and hold public hearings on projects related to transport infrastructure. Authorities show an eagerness to implement mega projects without due consideration of their economic and planning implications.

On 10 May, a report titled "Earth-filling for expressway threatens Hatirjheel" was published in The Business Standard.

Analysing people's comments under the links of media reports about Dhaka Elevated Expressway's harmful effects on the city's environment, the Institute for Planning and Development found that 71% of the comments were negative, 13% positive, 3% neutral, and 13% irrelevant. That means, apparently most of the people do not support such unfair projects.

Akhtar Mahmood, advisor to the Institute for Planning and Development, said, "There are some contradicting issues in the planning and implementation of the city's development projects. There are talks about greening the city, but trees are being felled."

"The sidewalks are being narrowed even though there are discussions on widening them. Everybody is talking about conserving reservoirs, but those are getting filled," said Akhtar Mahmood, a professor of regional planning department at Jahangirnagar University
Professor Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumdar, chairman of the environmental science department at Stamford University, said, "Projects destroying the environment are going on in the city. These are harming playgrounds, reservoirs, trees, and parks in the capital.

"The big question now is – "Who is in charge of looking after the city?". They should refrain from abominable acts like earth-filling Hatirjheel lake."

Ariful Islam, director of the Institute for Planning and Development, said only 5% of people in Dhaka city use private cars. Infrastructures like expressways are being built at a huge cost for their convenience.

If the expressway bypasses the main city, the revenue generated by it will not even amount to its construction cost. So ramps are being built through the heart of the city.