The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Dhaka

A Rajuk plan is underway to turn acres of lands of the city's suburb areas into residential character with the provision of basic needs in a bid to keep Dhaka City livable in the near future in the face of massive urbanization pressure.

Under the plan, location-9 having 6167.91 acres of lands have been selected as implementation areas. The location-9, with 18 mouzas, is broadly demarcated from the north by the Tongi Khal, from the east by the Balu River, from the south by the proposed purbanchal road and from the west by the Uttar Khan and Dakshin Mouzas.

This was suggested at a draft final report on 'RAJUK Detailed Area Plan (DAP), prepared by Goni Bangla Limited in close support of Prof Dr Golam Rahman. The draft report is the fourth of the series of reports to be submitted under the DAP for location-9.

Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (RAJUK) is taking the initiative under a 20-year (1995-2015) project titled 'Preparation of Detailed Area Plan for Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMPD) with the joint financial assistance of the government and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

DAP Project Director Deputy Secretary Tapan Kumar Nath told BSS yesterday that in view of increased population growth and demand for residential area, a vast amount of potential areas in the capital will be developed as residential areas with provision of basic services including commercial and garment industries.

The draft recommended reserving about one third of the total land of the location-9 for urban agriculture, one-third area for retention ponds and the rest one third for urban development.

The draft report said that some private developers are developing by earth filling in some areas in the location-9 low- lying and flood flow areas including some existing khals and retention ponds in the capital without considering future drainage and water logging problems of the flood prone areas which should be stopped.

Quoting a survey, the draft report said, at present the population of location-9 area stood at 69,068 and it will touch only at 80,000 by next seven years due to lack of development in the potential areas.

It strongly suggested controlling and monitoring the activities of the developers and said, the DMPD project would not only guide them to develop the area in a planned manner but also usher in a hope in meeting needs of residential areas of increased populace.

According to the final draft report, the detailed area plan will have different facilities like educational institutions, Open Park, neighbourhood, community centre, healthcare, market and graveyard.