Saat Masjid Road: Trees felled for facelift, a new median strip

City life comes with rapid change. But for the residents of Dhanmondi what didn't change for long were the trees and plants on the median of Saat Masjid Road. Bursting with blossoms in spring and summer, the krishnachuras and the radhachuras, among other trees, became a part of their lives.

Now the trees are almost gone, leaving residents baffled as to why a development project has to be carried out at the expense of those beautiful trees which also served as a bulwark against environmental degradation.

At a time when environmental issues are at the heart of most policy discussions, the felling of several hundred trees by the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) on Saat Masjid Road has raised more questions than answers.

According to DSCC officials, the trees were cut to correct the faulty alignment of the median on the Dhanmondi thoroughfare. The existing median divides the road unevenly, meaning the opposing lanes are not of the same width. The correction was needed to ensure smooth  traffic flow as the road now has to accommodate more buses under a new route plan.

Although they could not confirm exactly when the trees were planted, Dhanmondi residents said they had been planted at least 15 years ago.

Talking about the issue, officials also referred to an integrated Tk 1,719-crore project called "Different Infrastructure Development Project" (DIDP), under which the DSCC is carrying out a number of infrastructural and beautification projects.

The DIDP includes beautification of footpaths and median strips and construction of public urinals. It covers infrastructural development and beautification on four different roads --Saat Masjid Road, the stretch from Golapshah Mazar in Gulistan to Bangabazar in Fulbaria, the stretch from Palashi to Nilkhet and the stretch from Gulistan underpass to Golapshah Mazar. It also aims to widen the two-kilometre median on the Saat Masjid Road from 36 inches to 42 inches.

However, environmentalists and urban experts have raised questions about the rationale for cutting the trees which are vital for fresh air in an increasingly polluted city. They believe the project could be carried out without cutting the trees.

According to environmentalists, the DSCC has cut down nearly 600 trees from the median without having secured any permission from the forest department, which is illegal.

"The DSCC is doing it on the pretext of beautification and facilitating vehicular movement. However, it serves no such purpose," said Syeda Rizwana Hasan, chief executive of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (Bela).

Terming the move poorly planned, Adil Mohammad Khan, former general secretary of Bangladesh Institute of Planners, said that the development work on Saat Masjid Road could have been done by protecting the trees because the condition of the median was fit for the purpose.

The DSCC did not discuss it with professionals, nor did they care about public opinion though professional engagement and public participation are the two necessary factors before deciding on such issues, said Adil.

Beautification by getting rid of trees is unacceptable

— Adil Mohammad Khan, former general secretary of Bangladesh Institute of Planners

DSCC Chief Engineer Saleh Ahmed said they had to cut the trees to relocate the median at the centre of the road.

"Under new route plans, buses running from Ghatarchar to Kanchpur via Basila will ply Saat Masjid Road. But the problem is that the width of the road was not equal on both sides. So, we're making the width of both sides equal by relocating the median," Saleh Ahmed told The Daily Star.

"Besides, there were 10 to 12 intersections on this road. We will close them all except for four to five so that pedestrians and vehicles can cross safely," he added.

DSCC Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh on Tuesday told reporters that trees were cut only when there was no other alternative.

"Trees are being cut down on Saat Masjid Road to introduce an automatic traffic system. Residents of the area have already started to get the benefits of the ongoing development work," he said.

Responding to a question, the mayor said, "The information about the felling of 563 trees is false. We have cut only a few trees and the rest have fallen.

"We are sorry for the trees but we will plant three times the number that has been cut. Also, no more big trees will be planted on the median."

About not securing permission from the department of forest, a DSCC high-up, preferring not to be named, said, "It is necessary to take permission to cut the trees which are valued for timber but the trees which we have cut had no such value."

Terming this claim unfounded, Adil stressed that cutting trees on such a long stretch of road without the permission of the forest officials is illegal.

Echoing Adil, Iqbal Habib, joint secretary of Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon, said indiscriminate cutting of trees for implementing any project is illogical.

"The DSCC should have done a proper study considering the trees as living beings, but they didn't," Habib added.

Communications expert Prof Md Shamsul Hoque of Buet said he did not notice any anomaly with the median on Saat Masjid Road.

He also said that the decision to close so many intersections on the road might have a negative impact on curbing congestion.