Decision to demolish BGMEA bldg in Hatirjheel...

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers' and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Bhaban

HatirJheel wet land

West end of Hatirjheel wet land near 'Panthakunja'

Eskaton highrise overlooking Hatirjheel, wetland digging

Encroachment of wetland

Construction machines for Hilton hotel

Works on tower for fixing Hilton hotel bill board


Land filling for BTMA site on Begunbari canal

Begunbari canal and surrounding wet land

Begunbari canal near Rampura

Canal passing through Aftabnagar housing area

Filling of wet land on both sides narrowing the canal

Rangs Tower on Bijoy Sarani

LGRD and Cooperatives adviser Anwarul Iqbal said that the 15-storey Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers' and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Bhaban, built on a water retention area in Hatirjheel area that drains out water through Begunbari canal outside Central Dhaka, may be demolished as it did not have ‘Rajuk’ approval, also like the ’Rangs tower’s blocking Bijoy Sarani road.

In mid 80’s, Hatirjheel and Begunbari canal, which ran from the backside of the present Sonargaon Hotel to Gulshan, was thought to be designated as a flood-flow zone in the Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan for development of a large planned water body with facilities of water sports, boating and promenade on sides. But, much of the wetland is now under occupation of several powerful agencies.

One acre of land in the canal towards the east of the Sonargaon Hotel was handed over to the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) at a token price and Sonargaon hotel has taken massive extension work in the south, narrowing the wetland. Apart from BGMEA Bhaban, Brac, Aarong, and other local land grabbers upto Gulshan, soon-to-be-built in Hatijheel area are the Hilton Hotel and BTMA building.

It is reported in local dailies that Rangs Bhaban was built during the Ershad regime. When BNP was in power from 1991-1996, it took an initiative to demolish the building, but failed. Awami League during its 1996-2001 regime also took an initiative to demolish the building but also failed.

Vegetable Market - Karwan Bazar

Karwanbazar wholesale market


'Danta shak'- stem amaranth and 'misti kumra'

'Misti kumra' - sweet gourd/pumpkin

Jackfruit

'Jali/Chalkumra' - wax gourd

'Mankachu'- giant taro

'Kanchkala'- plantain

Puishak - Ind. spinach green

Ginger

Rooster

"Misuk' loaded with veg

Bargain for trip

Karwan bazar rail crossing

Image of Curzon Hall:

Plan and front view of Curzon Hall in 1904

Curzon hall after completion in 1908

Present view (front)


View from west

East wing


Domed terrace pavilions

This magnificent double-storied building in red bricks with a blend of continental and Mughal architecture ,with cusped arches and kiosk-like turrets, was built in 1904 as a Town Hall for the newly created province of East Bengal and Assam. A year later, Bengal was partitioned and Dhaka became the capital of the newly created province. The initiative and action of Lord Curzon, the then-Viceroy of India to divide Bengal into two states, led to fostering Muslim hopes of a permanent Muslim state that ultimately led to the formation of Bangladesh many years later. Lord Curzon laid the foundation of the building named after him on 14 February 1904. Since the new province had a majority Muslim population, the partition was welcomed by Muslims, but it was fiercely resented by Indian nationalist leaders. He was eventually forced out of office in 1905 but not before the building had started to take its shape. Curzon Hall was completed in 1908 but the partition of Bengal was annulled in 1911-12. Laid out in a spacious and carefully maintained garden in the heart of Ramna, this brick building has a large central hall, lateral wings on the east and west with several rooms, and a continuous verandah on all sides.

Some one impressed by its splendor once said:
“Where once did owl did hoot
The jackal yell,
In thickets dwarf and tall
There stands to-day, in state
A sentinel
The splendid Curzon Hall..”

It is learnt that the picture of Curzon Hall might feature in Bangladesh Currency note of Tk.1000.00 to be printed next.

Also see, Curzon Hall - Science Building of Dhaka University.

Roadside view: Livelihood

Money for the tiny snakes in the box - a way of earning a living

'Luchni' - kitchen articles

Footpath users

Birds for sale






Shahbagh intersection

'Amra' (hog-plum)

King size 'Amsatta' ( sweet pickled mango slice) and plum


Road side painters - create decorative pieces for anniversaries and wedding functions

Bamboos for construction works

Stilted shanties (bustee) in 'Hatir-jheel' area near Sonargaon hotel

Begunbari canal

Ramna Children's Park (Shishu Park) Dhaka

Bird's eye view of Ramna Children's Park - (Shishu Park)

Entry gate of park

'Misuk' (fawn) under tree

Park - inside view






Jet Fighter in the park




A tranquil place


For the train ride

Awaiting riders

Most sought after in the park

Whirling chair - not recommended for minors


A cosy place to relax







Ferris wheel - enjoy a panoramic view of Ramna



lonely

The Children’s (Shishu) Park in Ramna, on 15 acres of land curved out of northern portion of Sohrawardy Uddyan (formerly Ramna Race course), and on the south of BIRDEM and Dhaka Club, was built and inaugurated in 1979 as the first park in a planned manner to provide amusement to the children. The park has ferris wheel, mini train, trampoline, merry-go-round, skating rink, several other joy rides and over dozens of food courts for fun and entertainment. The train is always a crowd puller. The fighter plane near the hill was a gift from Bangladesh Air Force in late 90's. It has all its dials and switches in place, and in their 3 minute tour of the cockpit, the kids can operate the tail that sways from side to side.

In 80's and 90's, the park was the most attractive place in the town. But now it has lost most of its charm, the rides have become worn out and out-moded. The machines bought from Japan in late 70's need replacement every 15 years. But they are running for over 25 years making them vulnerable for accidents. Power failures are a regular feature disrupting the rides or the machines. The park authority is yet to make alternative arrangement for power supply from a standby generator.

With the growth of private commercial 'wonderlands and large theme parks' with new exciting items and rides in places such as, Gulshan, Ashulia and Nandan, attraction of Ramna Shishu park is losing fast. Except on Fridays and holidays, the park remain almost empty. The amusement offered by the park are availed by the poorer section of the city as they can't afford to visit the costly theme parks.

There was a plan to expand the park with dozens of new items, including roller coaster, water splash etc. and parking spaces, but it’s lying in cold storage for long. We hope the project would be revived and approved soon and all the new attractions would be able to pull back the crowds and take Shishu Park back to new heights. The park is maintained by DCC (Dhaka City Corporation). Entry fee to the park is Tk. 8/- per person, rides coupons are Tk 5/- each and are sold inside the park.

Botanical Garden Dhaka

Main Entry Gate of Botanical Garden, Mirpur

Vendor stalls outside the gate

Jack fruit tree

Nagalingam

Green house






Bamboo garden

Rose garden

Nursery


Lake area


Water fall structure - now without water

For a better view

Pool for Amazonian Lily




Cactus house


Burger shop

The National Botanical Garden, Dhaka was established in 1961 covering an area of about 84 ha of land located at Mirpur, about 10 km from Dhaka city. The garden houses nearly 50,000 species of trees, herbs, and shrubs including a large collection of aquatic plants. Many exotic plants have been introduced in the garden and acclimatized, and are routinely propagated under the local climatic conditions. Rare and exotic plant species found in the garden include Anthurium (Anthurium crystallinum), Camphor (Cinamomum camphora), Rabbit Fern (Davallia canariensis), Dambia (Dombeya spectabilis), white 'Rangan' (Ixora superba), little Mussanda (Mussaenda luteola), Amazon Lily (Victoria amazonica), 'Harhjora' (Vitis quadrangularis), African Tulip (Spathodea campanulata), Sambucuas (Sambucus nigra), white 'Chandan' (Santalum album), etc.

The garden is well planned and located adjacent to the National Zoo and provides learning and recreational facilities. The garden is divided into 57 sections, and is managed by the government through the Department of Forestry, Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Maps of Dhaka City and Bangladesh Transport System

Bangladesh- Population Density-----------------Bangladesh Administrative Map

Bangladesh- Transport Network Map-----------------Bangladesh Rivers

Bangladesh- Flood Affected Area -------------------- Cyclone affected Zone

Map- Climatic Zone --------------------------------------- Map Forest zone
(map ref: http://www.bangladesh.gov.bd/)

Dhaka City map - pre Mughal period

Dhaka City Map- Mughal Capital

James Rennel's Map of Bengal showing Inland Navigation (1776)

Rennel's Dhaka City map of late 18th century

Dhaka City map in 1859- under British Occupation

Dhaka City Map- Capital of East Bengal and Assam during 1905-11

Dhaka City Map of 1914

Dhaka City map - fag end of British rule
(map ref: Wikipedia)






Dhaka rivers and canals (daily star)


Dhaka city Image / Googles Earth Station Map of Dhaka (click to Save and Zoom to read)

Mapping of Bengal:

James Rennell (1742-1830) was born in Devonshire, England became a geographer and marine engineer and made an exploration of the Bengal river basins and mapped them for the first time. To facilitate commercial navigation, Henry Vansittart, governor of the Fort William, Calcutta gave him a commission in Bengal Engineers of the Company's army and entrusted him with the specific responsibility of making a survey of the major rivers of Bengal and their tributaries. After the company's acquisition of the Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa (1765), the need for such a survey was more keenly felt. Governor Robert Clive thus established a regular survey department in 1767 with James Rennell as its Surveyor General.

By the time, of course, Rennell had largely completed his explorations of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna river-systems. Dhaka was his operational headquarters. Originally, Rennell was employed for only surveying the Ganges delta with the special objective of finding a shorter passage suitable for large vessels from the Ganges to Calcutta, than that through the Sundarbans and the Meghna. His daily journal gives a detailed account of this voyage and of three subsequent expeditions, during which he surveyed greater part of northern and eastern Bengal, penetrating beyond Goalpara in Assam. Inadequately equipped, he was attacked by tigers, reptiles, dacoits and hostile people many times as he completed the survey within a span of three years with the help of only four assistants. It was while he was engaged on this duty on the frontier of Kuch Behar that he was attacked and severely wounded by a party of the rebellious followers of Fakir Majnu Shah.

His expeditions were so satisfactorily made that later the Survey of India found his identifications remarkably accurate. To all users — academic, administrative and navigational, Rennell's Atlas was the dependable guide until professional maps were made available in mid 19th century. Rennell's second great work was the first approximately correct map of India. The map was accompanied by a Memoir (1783) containing a full account of the plan on which it was executed. Rennell retired from the service in 1776 shortly after being promoted to the rank of Major in the Bengal Engineers. His Bengal Atlas, published in 1779, was a work of the highest importance from commercial, military and administrative points of view. To all users - academic, administrative and navigational, Rennell's Atlas was the dependable guide until professional maps were made available in mid 19th century (ref: Banglapedia).

It's a pity that Government, Tourism (Parjatan corp.) or Dhaka City Corporation has yet to make an interactive digital map of Dhaka city with images of city landmarks and road networks 'ward by ward' under Dhaka city. The Dhaka city maps commercially printed by some private firms "The Mappe" and "Graphosman" do not show details of landmark and routes of old Dhaka although they are of presentable quality and handy for the visitors.

Dhaka Zoo

Darus Salam Road, Mirpur

Dhaka Zoo Entry gate

Zoo office inside

View from inside

Enclosure for primates

Interior pathway

Curious visitors

Zebra corner

Keshowari (Emu)

Bumper Jack fruits in Zoo compound

Tame elephant preparing for joy rides on payment

Lonely Rhino

Resting ground

Hyena

Big Cat corner

Black Bear

Indian Lion

Tiger

Birds and snake area

Large birds inside


Virgin land

Jack fruits

Peacock corner attracts many


Peacock dance - will the current dry spell end soon?

Lake - sanctuary for guest birds during winter


Hippo in water

Open enclosure for Tigers and Lions


Royal Bengal Tiger gazing at the deers next door protected by wire fence


Unconcerned spotted and barking deers (Chitra and Maya) grazing in the field

Zoological Garden (Chiriyakhana): Dhaka Zoo, the largest zoo in Bangladesh, situated in Mirpur about 16 km away from the centre of Dhaka city. It is the national zoo under the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, started as a menagerie at the High Court Premises/Ramna park in Dhaka before 1964, and moved to its present location in early ‘70’s. It was ceremonially opened for public on June 23, 1974.

The zoo occupies an area of about 75 ha. It has two lakes of about 13 ha, which receive thousands of waterfowls every year in winter.

The total number of vertebrate fauna in the zoo was about 2,150 in 191 species. Included in these animals were about 551 mammals under 64 species, 1,543 birds under 90 species, 73 reptiles under 15 species, and about 104 aquarium fishes under 23 species. To attract visitors, besides many fascinating animals, there are tigers, lions, hippos, monkeys, and pythons. Moreover, some rare and interesting animals such as the rhea, peacock, zebra, elephant, African grey parrot, water buck, impala, emu, baboon, chimpanzee, gayal, black bear, tapir, mandrill, and estuarine crocodile provide additional entertainment to the visitors.

About 3 million visitors visit the Dhaka Zoo every year. Except Sundays the zoo remains open on other weekdays from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm (Oct-Mar) and from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm (Apr-Sep) (ref: banglapedia).

One may be impressed with the size and the terrain of the zoo but saddened by the state of affairs inside and the health of the animals. The open grounds look untidy with bushes and shrubs, littered with refuse. Cages look as if they aren't cleaned and washed regularly. The pathways are not well defined, full of pot holes, and pavement in many areas are missing. There is no carriage/ carway inside zoo for the elderly, handicapped and/or small children to move around such a large area.

It's sad, such a zoo site with beautiful surroundings and topography are not attracting people due to poor collection of animals and neglect by the management. Only one chimpanzee survives, and other animals look ill and many dying due to lack of health care and food. The zoo is destined to fade away.