Upon directives from Syeda Rizwana Hasan, adviser to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; the authorities concerned on Tuesday evicted some structures developed illegally on Gulshan Lake to free them from encroachment.
Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) and the Department of Environment (DoE) jointly conducted a drive to remove illegal structures from the lake.
The operation focused on removing illegal structures from the lake as well as adjacent nurseries, tin-shed rooms, and encroachments involving bamboo and nets within the lake area.
The operation is aimed at clearing the Ecologically Critical Area-designated Gulshan-Baridhara Lake.
Executive Magistrate Md. Kamruzzaman from RAJUK led the drive. Executive Magistrate Faizunnesa Akhtar from the Monitoring and Enforcement Wing of the DoE, along with teams from the Department of Environment's Dhaka office, RAJUK, and Gulshan Society's Vice President Israt Jahan were also present there.
The DoE asserted that such operations against environmental pollution will continue.
Earlier on Monday, the DoE halted the filling of Gulshan Lake following directives from Syeda Rizwana Hasan in response to complaints regarding the illegal activity.
A team conducted an on-site investigation in the area. During the inspection, they found evidence of lake filling in some parts of Gulshan Lake.
As a result, the DoE issued a notice to stop all filling activities in the identified portion of the lake until further orders. They also warned that legal action would be taken if the instructions were violated.
Gulshan Lake is classified as an Ecologically Critical Area (ECA), where filling is strictly prohibited under the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act.
