While civil society groups and environmental activists mounted strong protests during the ousted Awami League government over issues such as tree cutting on Dhanmondi’s Satmasjid Road and the construction of a police station on Tetultola playground. Environmentalists had waged a sustained movement from December 2024 for several months, demanding the cancellation of the elevated expressway link road project from FDC to Palashi through Panthakunja Park and the reserved Hatirjheel water body — both decisions taken during the previous regime. For more than 150 days, environmental activists staged sit-ins at Panthakunja Park. At the time, Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Road Transport and Bridges Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, and Industries Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan visited the site and spoke with protesters, assuring them that the interim government would hold discussions with the protesters. That, however, did not materialise. The activists later sought legal recourse, and the High Court directed authorities to refrain from any construction in the open spaces of Panthakunja Park and the Hatirjheel water body. Despite this, construction activity has recently resumed at Panthakunja Park. Environmental campaigners say they are deeply disappointed with the government’s stance.
In December 2024, the road transport adviser announced during a visit to Panthakunja that Shaheed Anwara Udyan at Farmgate would be reopened by March 2025. However, the park was opened last Friday, and that too without being made suitable for public use.
Adil Mohammed Khan, executive director of the Institute of Planning & Development (IPD), told Bonik Barta, “Environmental activists expected that during this government’s tenure, there would be no need for environmental movements at all. Rather, the government itself would prevent the encroachment of parks, playgrounds, and water bodies. But to our astonishment, we are seeing this government becoming involved in environmentally destructive activities just like the previous one. We stayed at Panthakunja Park day after day, yet no one from the government even felt the need to listen to us. This scene reminds us of the past regime. When we went to the then-powerful mayor Taposh’s office to save trees in Dhanmondi, he did not even meet the protesters. We went to court to protect Panthakunja Park and obtained a status quo order. Now the government has appealed against it and has started destroying the park again. What could be more disappointing than this?”
Not only at Panthakunja Park, but also at Suhrawardy Udyan, activities harmful to the environment are also underway. Under the pretext of renovating a children’s park, a large portion of the green space is being covered with concrete. At the same time, an Ansar camp has recently been constructed inside the park. Recently, concrete coverage is being made in the name of constructing a walkway.
Climate justice activist Nayon Sarker told Bonik Barta, “We recently visited Suhrawardy Udyan. It is now difficult to even call it a park. Cutting trees already started there, and the Dhaka South City Corporation will cut down more trees.”
During the interim period, projects have also been taken up to build housing for government officials on a large playground at the Azimpur Staff Quarters Colony. Construction work is ongoing at Rampura playground, depriving children of play space. Decisions have been made to build police stations on the water bodies in Rampura and Khilgaon. Besides these, Osmani Udyan has also seen concrete encroachment again.
At least three playgrounds in the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) area are reportedly being lost. These include Kalshi playground and Colony playground in Mirpur, as well as Town Hall Park in Mohammadpur. Although these spaces have long been used as public areas, the National Housing Authority (NHA) has recently made plans to develop housing projects there.
In a recent written statement issued on behalf of DNCC Administrator Mohammad Ejaz, the corporation’s public relations department said the playgrounds and parks in question are not owned by DNCC, but by NHA.
Jahangirnagar University’s Urban and Regional Planning (URP) department professor Dr. Akter Mahmud told Bonik Barta, “We have seen this before — some environmental activists begin movements and later shift into advisory roles. This essentially creates a conflict of interest. However, it is true that the way the civic movement has stopped now in Dhaka, there has never been such silence before. In the past, whenever the government proposed an environmentally destructive project, environmentalists would immediately take to the streets with local residents — organising marches, holding meetings, and protesting in various ways. Now, environmentally harmful activities are taking place, parks and playgrounds are being encroached upon, yet no visible movement is emerging. This is certainly bad news for the environmental movement.”
Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) has long played a key role in the country’s environmental movement and maintained a strong presence in protests to protect Suhrawardy Udyan, save trees in Dhanmondi, and preserve Tetultola playground. Asked about the current state of environmental activism, BAPA General Secretary Md Alamgir Kabir told Bonik Barta, “Due to BAPA’s national conference, rallies or marches couldn’t be organised. However, we visited Panthakunja Park, issued press statements demanding a halt to construction, and read out a declaration condemning the activities at our national conference. The environment adviser was present at the conference. We strongly demanded the protection of Panthakunja Park, and the adviser placed her explanation before us.”
Sources say that one wing of the elevated expressway will pass through Panthakunja via several pillars and extend towards Old Dhaka through Dhanmondi and Hatirpool. In addition, a ramp connection from this wing through Panthakunja near the SAARC Fountain area will provide access to the expressway. Architect Iqbal Habib, vice-president of the Safety Awareness Foundation (SAF), said, “We believe that this government could have shown the resolve to cancel the entire wing or branch — even if that meant confronting or accepting economic losses or compensation issues. In that case, the decision could have been considered firm, logical, and humane when weighed against the potential long-term environmental and ecological damage, the failure to address public resentment, and the likelihood of traffic-impact complications at such a critical point.”
He added, “With the elections approaching and incidents of mob violence, a kind of stagnation has set in within the environmental movement. However, it is also true that once an elected government comes to power, this stagnation will fade. Then we will once again work with full energy to reclaim Dhaka’s playgrounds, parks, and water bodies.”
Syeda Ratna, who was actively involved in the Tetultola playground protection movement, said, “We are disappointed with this government’s actions. There is no environmental movement anywhere else in the capital. We stayed at Panthakunja for days on end, but we received no cooperation from this government on environmental issues.”
To obtain an overall comment, a message was sent to the environment adviser via WhatsApp. However, until the time of writing this report last night, no response had been received.