Swechchhasebak Dal Office Established by Occupying a Public Toilet in Old Dhaka

❐ Local correspondent

BNP’s affiliate organization, the Volunteer Party, has opened an office by occupying a public toilet under construction in Old Dhaka, funded by the World Bank.

The two toilets were constructed by Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) at a cost of Tk 22.86 crore under the Dholaikhal Reservoir Renovation Project.

Among them, two banners reading “Dhaka Metropolitan South Volunteers’ Party Ward No. 44 Head Office” are hanging in front of the toilet building built on the southwest side of the reservoir.

Inside the office, there is a banner of BNP leader Ishraq Hossain’s election campaign. There are also pictures of Ward 44 Volunteer Party Convener Md. Sumon Hossain and Member Secretary Md. Payel Sheikh.

The Dholaikhal reservoir, which had been practically a garbage dump due to long-term encroachment and pollution, was renovated in 2023 under the “Dhaka City Neighborhood Upgrading Project” to restore the reservoir and transform it into a modern public space.

The then mayor, Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, had announced during the inauguration of the project that Dholaikhal would be transformed into a more attractive urban-recreational center than Hatirjheel. The plan included walking paths, cycle tracks, greenery, an open stage, a fountain, a children’s play area and food facilities.

Charu Enterprise and Masud Hi-Tech Enterprise are implementing the construction work of the project.

According to project-related documents, the contractors were billed Tk 14.6 crore, showing 72 percent completion of the work till last February. Later, the progress till April 22 was shown as 81.55 percent and a plan was made to complete 90 percent of the work by May 31. At that time, another Tk 2.54 crore was billed.

However, even though the deadline has passed, much of the project work is still pending. In the meantime, DSCC has approved a new package of approximately 6 crore taka to correct the design flaws of the project. However, that work has not yet begun.

The work on the walls on three sides surrounding the reservoir is not yet complete. The construction of the main entrance is also incomplete. About 600 meters of road work is still to be done. The 20 benches planned have not yet been installed. The work on greening has not started.

While one of the two public toilets in the project is functional, the southwest toilet still needs finishing work even after the infrastructure construction is complete. This facility is currently being used as a political office.

Mehedi Hasan, site engineer at Charu Enterprises, the project implementing company, said, “The basic infrastructure work of the toilet has been completed. But the finishing work is still pending. Since August 5, the volunteer team banner has been hoisted there and it is being used as an office. As a result, we are unable to complete the remaining work.”

However, Riazul Kabir, the accounting officer of the contracting company, claimed that the matter was temporary.

He said, “The toilet was closed for a while due to some technical flaws in the design. At that time, the Eid animal market was being held. Some local people were sitting there at that time. We spoke to them. They said they would vacate the place once the work on the second package starts.”

Project Director Rajib Khadem said, “Our estate department has informed the property department in writing about the matter. They will take necessary action immediately.”

Regarding the occupation of the toilet, Mohammad Nazim, convener of the Sutrapur Thana Volunteer Party, said, “Various types of criminal activities and drug dealing used to take place here. As we currently do not have an office, I am sitting here for the time being on the advice of the party. I will leave when the project work starts.”