Demolish all hotels, shops at Hatirjheel-Begunbari project: HC
GBNEWS24 DESK//
Declaring the Hatirjheel-Begunbari Lake project as a ‘public trust property’, the court issued directives to the Rajuk chairman, Dhaka North City mayor, Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner, Hatirjheel Police Station officer-in-charge and Hatirjheel-Begunbari project director to protect and preserve the beauty of Hatirjheel Lake.
The High Court in its directives ordered formation of a separate authority under the prime minister to oversee the conservation, development and operation of various activities in the area.
It also prohibited the construction of any commercial structure on the land.
The court said the engineering unit of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and the 24th Brigade of the Bangladesh Army are jointly appointed permanent consultants of the project.
The court also ordered construction of footpaths, bicycle lanes, sidewalks for physically challenged people and underground toilets for public use.
It also asked the authorities concerned to ensure the supply of pure drinking water for people.
The lake should be a fish sanctuary, the court said.
A virtual bench of justice Ashraful Kamal and justice Razik-al-Jalil issued the directives after disposing of a public interest litigation writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh in 2018.
HRPB’s lawyer Manzill Morshed said the construction of 27 commercial outlets including hotels, restaurants and shops in the project was a violation of the layout plan for the project.
He told the court to protect the beauty of the Hatirjheel-Bagunbari Lake which is visited by hundreds of people every day.
Manzill Morshed told the court that restaurants and other illegally built structures were creating public nuisance, obstructing visitors’ free movement and damaging the project’s beauty.
But the authorities failed to remove the illegal structures, he said.
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