Drive to evict Wonderland begins

DHAKA NEWS

Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakhha (Rajuk) started an eviction drive on Monday to demolish Wonderland Amusement Park built occupying around a 4-acre area of Gulshan Central Playground in the city.

Rajuk launched the drive following a May 3 order of the Appellate Division of Supreme Court, said Nurul Islam, executive engineer of Rajuk.

Though Rajuk is supposed to remove the entire commercial set up of Wonderland to make the playground open to public, the authorities decided to give the amusement park authorities a couple of days to remove the rides and machineries of the amusement park.

"We are giving them (Wonderland authorities) a two-day time, as they have expensive machineries inside the park," said Rokon Ud Doula, executive magistrate of Rajuk, when asked why they are showing such leniency.

During the day's action, Rajuk will attempt to knock down the heavily-built entry gates and boundary walls of the Wonderland with two bulldozers and 30 labourers backed up by around 100 riot police, Nurul Islam said.

Though the then Dhaka City Corporation mayor in 1990 was officially entrusted to take care of the playground, he 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.

The Wonderland authorities subsequently indulged in all kinds of commercial gains with restaurants, shops and by holding various commercial events like fair to churn out money from each and every inch of the playground, making residential life miserable in the neighbourhood.

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.

A High Court bench on May 24, 2007 following public interest litigation ordered the authorities of Wonderland to remove all its establishments in six months.

A vacation chamber judge however stayed the order till July 26 the same year with the appeal petition pending at the appellate division.

Another HC bench later asked Rajuk to find an alternative site for Wonderland before eviction.

The appellate division finally cleared the HC order making way for eviction.