Wonderland's boundary wall knocked down
Rajuk demolished frontal boundary wall of Wonderland amusement park in the capital to free around 4-acre area of Gulshan central playground yesterday following a verdict of the Supreme Court.
The entire central playground is shown as an open public ground in the layout plan of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakhha (Rajuk).
The amusement park had been making business occupying a portion of the playground illegally for many years with a legal battle in the High Court, said Md Nurul Huda, chairman of the Rajuk.
"Final verdict of the Appellate Division on May 3 cleared any bar to eviction of commercial setting up of Wonderland and free the public space," he said.
The then Dhaka City Corporation mayor in 1990, though officially entrusted to take care of the playground, leased out the said portion of the Gulshan central playground to M/s Via Media to develop the commercial amusement park.
The DCC action then sparked public protest.
Wonderland authorities subsequently indulged in all kinds of commercial gains with restaurants, shops and by holding various commercial events like fair and concerts to churn out money out of every inch of the playground making residential life miserable in the neighbourhood, said official sources.
They turned the adjoining footpath into car park ground sometimes occupying a portion of the Gulshan Avenue with the police playing silent spectators year after year.
Though the lease was renewable every three years, DCC stopped renewal in 2005, as one Nasir Uddin, a Gulshan resident and member of Central Masjid and Eidgah Society (Azad Mosque), filed a petition with the High Court.
But the court said DCC's lease was without legal authority and on May 24, 2007 ordered the authorities of Wonderland to remove all its establishments within six months. It also directed DCC and Rajuk to provide the lease holder with an alternative site before eviction.
GM Mostafizur Rahman, managing director of Via Media, said Rajuk demolished the establishment though Appellate Division did not mention eviction drive.
"Rajuk did not provide us with an alternative site either," he said, "We have assets worth Tk100 crore in the park."
Rajuk chairman said that there is no available land at their disposal to provide an alternative site.
"We allowed Wonderland authorities two days time to remove expensive rides and machineries inside the park," said Rokon Ud Doula, executive magistrate of Rajuk, who led the drive.
Nurul Islam, executive engineer of Rajuk, said they engaged two bulldozers and 30 labourers backed up by around 100 riot police to carry out the drive.
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