Don’t make Dhaka a gigantic bazar for earning revenue

The government has recently announced that property owners in select upscale areas of the capital will now be able to convert their residential plots into commercial ones, subject to certain conditions and a specified fee. The move is part of a larger initiative to increase revenue for the government.
Under this new policy, residential plots along 100-foot-wide roads in areas under Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (RAJUK) can also be converted into commercial plots. Additionally, the government had previously provided a similar opportunity for plots in the Tejgaon industrial area to be converted into industrial, commercial, and residential uses, resulting in the conversion of about 100 industrial plots into commercial and residential ones in the last three years.
However, there are concerns among urban planners about the potential harm to residential areas and the need to ensure that the necessary utility facilities, traffic systems, and people mobility are in place before any changes are made to the nature of the city’s residential areas.
The decision to allow commercial activities in Gulshan, Banani, Baridhara, and Uttara areas should be made with careful consideration of their necessity and potential impact on the surrounding community.
Moreover, it is important to note that many residential plots in posh areas are already being used for commercial purposes, which has led to the deterioration of the residential characteristics of those areas and the emergence of various problems, including traffic jams.
Therefore, any decision to allow for the conversion of residential plots into commercial ones must be made with the involvement of urban planners, city corporations, and community members to ensure that the necessary infrastructure and systems are in place to mitigate any negative impacts. Ultimately, it is important to strike a balance between the need for revenue generation and the preservation of the residential nature of the city’s upscale areas.
For earning money, the government has already turned Dhaka a mammoth bazar unfit to be called a capital. Why is the government so interested in making money that no other interest is important to it? In other countries, the capitals and other big cities take careful steps to remove commercial and industrial establishments to keep their capitals clean and make jam-free traffic. Dhaka city is among the dirtiest and its roads are filled with chaotic traffic jams. The government can allow anything as long it gets money. But it will not try to get back the huge stolen money laundered abroad.