Urban planners and environmental activists at a human chain protested the construction of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway segment from Karwanbazar to Plassey Crossing, citing the destruction of Panthakunja Park and Hatirjheel lake in the capital.
Under the banner of 鈥楤angladesh Gachh Rakkha Andolan鈥�, the protesters also began a sit-in around 12:45pm Saturday, demanding the immediate cancellation of the project, inside Panthakunja Park, closed to the public since 2018 for renovation and project work, at Banglamotor in the city.
鈥榃e will continue the sit-in until the construction is halted,鈥� said Amirul Rajiv, coordinator of Bangladesh Gachh Rakkha Andolan.
Protesters highlighted that most trees in the six-acre park had already been cut down, and 41 pillars had been installed in Hatirjheel, partially filling its waterbody for the expressway extending to Plassey Crossing.
Criticising the destruction of parks and waterbodies, especially when Dhaka鈥檚 air ranks as the world鈥檚 most polluted, the protesters expressed disappointment that the matter was happening under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government that included an environmental rights activist as an adviser.
Jahangirnagar University urban and regional planning professor Adil Mohammad Khan stated that the elevated expressway was initially designed to bypass Dhaka through Jatrabari. Its current extension through Hatirjheel and Panthakunja Park to Plassey Crossing was not part of the original plan.
鈥楾his project will not only destroy public spaces and the environment but will also worsen traffic congestion on major city roads, including those near Dhaka University, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Nilkhet, and Plassey,鈥� he added.
The protesters demanded accountability for officials involved in anti-public and anti-environment projects and called for their names to be publicly disclosed.
They also urged the removal of the 41 pillars from Hatirjheel and reforestation in Panthakunja Park to restore biodiversity.
The sit-in was led by Pavel Partha, an ecology and biodiversity researcher.
The 46.73 km expressway, under a public-private partnership, aims to connect Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway at Kutubkhali via Kuril, Banani, Mohakhali, Tejgaon, Sonargaon Hotel, Moghbazar, and Kamalapur.
