In spite of the fact that capital city’s master plan makes it officially conservable, the city Dhaka in its 1,528-sq km area lost flood flow zones and wetlands respectively at an annual rate of 2,110 and 165 acres over the past decade, said an urban planner.

Leading urban planners at a press conference jointly organized by Transparency International Bangladesh, Bangladesh Institute of Planners, Bela, ALRD and Nodi O Poribesh Unnyan Parishad Savar, came up with the findings.

Since official gazette notification of Dhaka’s Detailed Area Plan in 2010, Dhaka city lost a quarter of 74699 acres conservable flood flow zones in the process of changing character of land with earth filling and sand filling farcically in the name of development, they said.

During same time, 57 of 154 acres conservable water retention areas were lost to ‘development,’ they said.

Nationally, the country loses 42, 000 acres of arable and wetlands annually, said Prof Adil Mohhamed Khan, general secretary of Bangladesh Institute of Planners, while making a presentation at the press conference held at TIB office.

“Conservation of water bodies like rivers and canals, wetlands, retention areas and flood flow zones are all vital to making development and urbanization sustainable with ecological balance,” said Khan. 

TIB executive director Dr Iftekharuzzaman said, “Such destructive work in the name of development occurred due to lack of governance foiled by a tripartite connivance of businessmen, law enforcers and political authority.”