Citizens on Saturday gave a 30-day ultimatum to the Dhaka North City Corporation, Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited and Public Works Department for removing structures from Anwara Udyan, better known as Farmgate Park.
Urging to remove the structures and the construction materials from the park area, the protesters said that if their ultimatum was not met, they would launch tougher movement.
Farmgate Shaheed Anwara Udyan Raksha Andolan coordinator Amirul Rajiv made the announcement at a human chain organised at Farmgate.
鈥業f our demands are not met in a month, we will launch tougher movements, including sit-in programme,鈥� said Amirul Rajiv, a photographer and rights activist.
He said that the park bears memories of the War of Independence in 1971 and mass uprising 1969.聽
Addressing the event, Bangladesh Institute of Planners president Adil Mohammed Khan said, 鈥楤ack in 2017-2018, DMTCL began to use the park temporarily to construct metro station. Now they are saying that they will construct Metro Plaza. It is an unjust and a breach of contract.鈥�
Adil, also a professor of Jahangirnagar University鈥檚 urban and regional planning department, said that the decision of constructing the shopping mall went against the public interest.
Bangladesh Institute of Planners former president Akter Mahamud said that Dhaka now had only one unit of trees and greenery against the standard of 90 units required for two crore people living in the capital city.
鈥業 want to say clearly that we want the park returned to people,鈥� he added.聽聽
Shireen Huq, founder of Naripokkho, said that the city would turn unlivable for people, if one after another park was closed.
鈥榃e will not find a breathing space in the city. If such situation continues, we will have to live a miserable life,鈥� she added.
She urged not to cut trees and destroy open spaces for the sake of upcoming generations.
Cultural activist Syeda Ratna, who was detained for protecting Tentulta Playground, said, 鈥榃e are constructing buildings for restaurants and shopping malls. It seems that we have no other work except taking food in restaurants and buying cloths in shopping malls.鈥�
The protesters also carried placards inscribing 鈥楩ree Anwara Park Now鈥�, 鈥楪et Out DMTCL From Anwara Udyan鈥�, 鈥楬eat Wave or Green Space鈥�, 鈥楽top Ecocide鈥�, 鈥楶arks for the People Not for Plaza鈥�, 鈥楧haka Has Also Lives鈥� and 鈥楽ave Green of Dhaka鈥�.
Local people along with different organisations, including Satmasjid Sarak Gachh Raksha Andolan, Bangladesh Poribesh Andolan, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association, Bangladesh Institute of Planners, Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, Naripokkho, Tentultala Math Raksha Andolan, Institute for Planning and Development and Bangladesh Udichi Shilpigosthi expressed solidarity with the movement.
Noted personalities, including economist Anu Muhammad, BELA chief executive Syeda Rizwana Hasan and renowned photographer Nasir Ali Mamun also expressed solidarity with the movement.
