Protesters have been staging a 24-hour sit-in at Panthakunja Park in Dhaka鈥檚 Banglamotor area for 10 consecutive days, demanding the cancellation of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway segment from Tejgaon to Plassey Crossing via Panthakunja Park and Hatirjheel Lake.
To construct the segment, the Elevated Expressway authority has already installed 41 pillars, filling a portion of Hatirjheel Lake and cutting down more than 250 trees in Panthakunja Park, which was home to an urban wildlife habitat, age-old leafy trees and a vital source of fresh air for city dwellers.
Earlier this year, protests broke out when the expressway authorities began cutting down trees inside the six-acre park, of which 4.1 acres had been acquired by the authority, forcing them to halt their operations.
As the authorities resumed work this month, fresh protests, however, erupted, with some protesters starting a sit-in on December 14 to protect the park, the lake, and the surrounding trees that are at risk of being cut down if the segment is implemented, halting work ever since.
During a visit to the park on December 21, four activists鈥擜mirul Rajiv, Nayon Sarkar, Ahadul Seraj, and Syed Muhammad Zakir鈥攆rom the Bangladesh Tree Protection Movement were seen staying inside, where they had set up a tent, placed two benches, and displayed several placards with messages advocating for the protection of trees and parks.
Despite facing challenges, including illness, enduring loud noise, and mosquito bites during the winter season, the protesters are staging the sit-in.
Amirul, the convener of the movement, said, 鈥榃e are highly spirited, and we will continue fighting against the anti-people and anti-environment system.鈥�
To access a toilet or charge their phones, the team of five people uses the security guard鈥檚 room, which is a five-minute walk away.聽
Experts said that this segment would not only destroy public spaces and the environment but would also worsen traffic congestion on major city roads, including those near Dhaka University, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Nilkhet, and Plassey.聽聽
Jahangirnagar University鈥檚 professor of Urban and Regional Planning, Adil Mohammad Khan, said that this segment was not part of the original plan for the elevated expressway, which was intended for use by cars, and was added later to make the project financially viable, without proper feasibility study.
Rashidul Hassan, additional secretary to the Bridge Division, said, 鈥楾he project has been implemented under a public-private partnership. If we cancel the work on this segment, we still will have to pay the toll that was supposed to be collected from 18 per cent of the traffic, as per the agreement.鈥�
No decision, however, has been made on whether this segment will be cancelled.
Mahmuda Rokhsena Sultana, divisional forest officer for the Social Forest Division, said that the Forest Department permitted the Bangladesh Bridge Authority to cut 258 trees in the park on October 10 past year, as the project was on the priority list of the then Awami League government.
The 46.73-kilometre expressway project, from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway at Kutubkhali near Jatrabari, was undertaken in 2011 to reduce traffic congestion in the capital and save time and money.