1 week Ago
Green activists, urban planners, and concerned citizens calling for the cancellation of an elevated expressway ramp through Panthakunja Park and Hatirjheel will mark 100 days of protest today. The Bangladesh Tree Protection Movement (BTPM), which has staged a continuous sit-in for 100 days, are set to hold a press conference at 10:30am at the Bangladesh Institute of Planners in Banglamotor today, where organisers will present an alternative proposal. In a press release yesterday, the BTPM said that under the pretext of urban development, approximately 2,000 trees of 40 species in Panthakunja Park have already been destroyed for the construction of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway.
The ramp of the expressway is set to cut through the heart of Panthakunja Park, extending towards Karwan Bazar intersection, with another connecting road running through Panthakunja Park up to Palashi. It added that Karwan Bazar is already overwhelmed by unbearable traffic congestion, and this new road will only worsen the situation. Additionally, it will disrupt the usability of the existing road from Karwan Bazar to Palashi.
The project also poses severe environmental threats to surrounding areas, including Hatirpool, Kathalbagan, Katabon, Nilkhet, Dhaka University, and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), while further aggravating traffic congestion. Panthakunja Park and Hatirjheel Reservoir are the only green spaces accessible to nearly 2 million residents in this area. "Destroying them for an anti-people and anti-nature expressway ramp construction project is unacceptable," read the statement.
To protest this, the BTPM has been holding a continuous sit-in programme, which will reach its 100th day today. The press conference will discuss the environmental and social crises caused by the project, the lack of proper planning and expert assessment, technical flaws in the project, misuse of state funds. They will also place alternative proposals.
The press conference will be presided over by Professor Anu Muhammad. Green activists, urban planners, and concerned citizens calling for the cancellation of an elevated expressway ramp through Panthakunja Park and Hatirjheel will mark 100 days of protest today. The Bangladesh Tree Protection Movement (BTPM), which has staged a continuous sit-in for 100 days, are set to hold a press conference at 10:30am at the Bangladesh Institute of Planners in Banglamotor today, where organisers will present an alternative proposal.
In a press release yesterday, the BTPM said that under the pretext of urban development, approximately 2,000 trees of 40 species in Panthakunja Park have already been destroyed for the construction of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway. The ramp of the expressway is set to cut through the heart of Panthakunja Park, extending towards Karwan Bazar intersection, with another connecting road running through Panthakunja Park up to Palashi. It added that Karwan Bazar is already overwhelmed by unbearable traffic congestion, and this new road will only worsen the situation.
Additionally, it will disrupt the usability of the existing road from Karwan Bazar to Palashi. The project also poses severe environmental threats to surrounding areas, including Hatirpool, Kathalbagan, Katabon, Nilkhet, Dhaka University, and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), while further aggravating traffic congestion. Panthakunja Park and Hatirjheel Reservoir are the only green spaces accessible to nearly 2 million residents in this area.
"Destroying them for an anti-people and anti-nature expressway ramp construction project is unacceptable," read the statement. To protest this, the BTPM has been holding a continuous sit-in programme, which will reach its 100th day today. The press conference will discuss the environmental and social crises caused by the project, the lack of proper planning and expert assessment, technical flaws in the project, misuse of state funds.
They will also place alternative proposals. The press conference will be presided over by Professor Anu Muhammad..
