Home ›› 24 Oct 2021 ›› Front
The Shahjahanpur Jheel, a polluted water body spreading foul smell, in the capital is going to become a scenic recreational spot as part of a development project.
Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) officials said they had taken an initiative to renovate the 1.4km lake covering north Shahjahanpur, south Khilgaon, Bagicha, Shantibagh, and Gulbagh.
They said thousands of people in DSCC ward 11 and a portion of ward 12 would get a beautiful leisure spot, which would be better than Hatirjheel.
The water body had been maintained by the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) for decades to drain out rain water until last year.
The Dhaka WASA handed over city drainage management along with the lake’s maintenance to the city corporation authorities on December 31 last year.
DSCC Chief Town Planner Md Sirajul Islam, also the director of the World Bank-funded Dhaka City Neighbourhood Upgrade Project, told The Business Post revamping the jheel is part of the project.
He said the project is the first-ever World Bank-funded public space development project.
The jheel development project was designed by Vienna-based consultancy firm Superwien, he said.
Daffodil International University’s architecture department is associated with the project planning, he further said.
Shenhua Wang, World Bank senior urban development specialist and the jheel development project’s task team leader, said the neighbourhood upgrade project was helping improve public spaces and buildings in selected localities in the DSCC.
In May 2019, the World Bank signed the project agreement with the DSCC.
“With inputs from the community, the Shahjahanpur Jheel waterfront will be upgraded so that residents of all ages can enjoy the open space,” Shenhua said.
She also said the conceptual design was estimated to be completed by December this year, the feasibility study by June next year, and physical work by 2024.
DSCC officials said the project includes building a circular road, walkways, and dedicated bicycle lanes.
They said the revamped jheel would give women and children better access to recreational activities.
Besides, pocket parks and small-scale sporting facilities will be installed with adequate lighting for safety, particularly of women so that they would feel safe there even at night.
There will be no waterlogging in the surrounding areas once the project is finished.
Locals said the lake was once connected with the Manda Khal where people used to fish and bathe.
Project officials said people would meet and hang out with friends and families in the area after the revamp.
They said there would be restaurants selling snacks and drinks to visitors.
More trees would be planted on both sides of the water body as part of the environment-friendly development project, they said.
They further said they would make the jheel free from pollution so that fish and other aquatic animals could live there to maintain biodiversity.
For the neighbourhood upgrade project, the World Bank gave $100.5 million in loans to upgrade public spaces, such as parks, playgrounds, waterfronts, streets, and sidewalks, and transform public buildings, such as community centres, into multipurpose facilities to serve communities in four areas.
The areas are Kamrangirchar, Lalbagh, Sutrapur-Nayabazar-Gulistan, and Khilgaon-Mugda-Bashabo.
Locals said Dhaka WASA had renovated the jheel in 2011 to solve waterlogging but could not evict the grabbers.
They said nearly 100 illegal structures, including some multi-storey buildings, were still on the lake, disrupting its water flow.
Local green activists said pollution and grabbing had caused the jheel to die.
They also said the Dhaka WASA had not maintained the jheel properly after the 2011 renovation and thus created scopes for grabbers to occupy it.
“Sewerage lines and solid waste dumping are the two major challenges of keeping the lake fresh,” said Altaf Hossain, a resident of the area.
