Fabulous buildings, no civic amenities

Syed Ishtiaque Reza brDhaka city's basic infrastructure like roads and supply pipelines don't seem to match the residential and commercial building boom. brFrom old Dhaka to Tongi, the city is witnessing a frazied construction activity. Developers say, it is quite natural as Dhaka is the centre of all activities. brBut, what about the civic amenities to cope with the needs of the rapidly growing city populationbr Niketan at Gulshan, Banasri, Aftab Nagar and Mahanagar at Rampura, among the mega projects growing rapidly, lack the basic amenities, residents allege. brAn Eastern Housing flat owner said the developers sold plots to individuals simply developing the land. They just filled the land and sold the plots without constructing the roads inside the projects. The areas are in complete mess. brAfter buying the plots the buyers resold them to the developers who built building after building without creating basic civic amenities, he complained.brMost of the privately developed residential areas except Bashundhara Residential Zone have narrow roads and inadequate sewerage and water supply. Neither the government nor the developers care to follow the rules which require leaving some free space in constructions. brHigh-rises spring up without matching roads, drainage or water supply, lamented Arju Alim , a resident of the Niketan Residential Complex at Gulshan. brShe alleged that Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakhya (Rajuk) okays building plans without caring to probe whether the adjoining roads permit them or not. The developers construct buildings ignoring their responsibility to create the basic amenities, she said.brDevelopers say that the pay the fees and charges for taking permission who would provide the basic amenities The city is becoming a concrete slum. What is the use of having world class buildings without basic amenities brReal estate analysts say the realtors are taking advantage of the delay in detailed area planning and lack of consciousness among the buyers for which they do not ask for these facilities before buying apartments.brThey said Dhaka city urgently needs a detailed area planning which will ensure that unless and until, an approved layout providing internal roads, parks, sewerage network, is inplace no developer would get the permission to sell plots or flats.