Heart-broken in Gulshan

Coming back to my Gulshan apartment after a long time away, I notice changes, some positive, one outrageously negative.

On the bright side, non-construction noise has significantly gone down. Cries of “Murgii, Murgii” are not heard, thanks to clampdown on unauthorised access. The streets look wider because of new carpeting. A knurled median in the footpath for the visually-impaired is noteworthy.   

What upsets me are the trees, which used to provide shelter to a host of birds including the local cuckoo and protected us from the blistering sun, lying on the footpaths. This particular stretch of pavement isn't used much by pedestrians, so the trees could have been spared.  

In Vienna, where I was working, one needs a written permission from the city authorities to fell a tree. If the city itself has to cut some trees for construction work, it plants around 10 more trees elsewhere. 

For this asthmatic city of Dhaka, trees are its scarred lungs. Some consideration is requested to save them as much as possible.

Anonymous
By email