Dhaka Residents Still Wait as Osmani Udyan Renovation Drags On

Residents of Dhaka are unable to enjoy one of the capital’s key green spaces, as the renovation of Osmani Udyan has repeatedly missed deadlines. Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) has failed to complete the project despite five extensions.

Although about 92 percent of the work is reportedly finished, construction has been stalled since June 30 last year, when the most recent deadline expired. New contractors were appointed in September 2023, and the project was rescheduled to reopen in July 2024, but finishing work remains incomplete.

“Only final touches are pending, which could be completed within two months once the deadline is extended—without additional costs,” a DSCC official said.

DSCC Administrator Md Shahjahan Miah told reporters on September 2 that the corporation is seeking another deadline extension and aims to finish the project within the current fiscal year.

A Long-Delayed Project

The renovation originally began in January 2017, with a planned completion date of June 2018. Progress was interrupted for nearly two years after the first contractor, Builders Limited, had its work order cancelled in 2022 for alleged contract violations. Subsequent deadlines were extended repeatedly—to June 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.

The project’s cost has also risen over time. Initially estimated at Tk 58 crore, it was revised to Tk 86 crore, with an additional Tk 61 crore allocated after the new work order. The renovation is part of the Tk 200-crore “Jol Sobujey Dhaka Project,” which aims to modernize 19 parks and 12 playgrounds.

Planned improvements include walkways, a library, a food court, upgraded drainage for two lakes, direct pathways from the Secretariat to Nagar Bhaban, a lakeside stairway, an indoor games zone, and parking facilities.

Named after Liberation War commander-in-chief General Muhammad Ataul Gani Osmani, the park also features rare trees, sculptures, and an auditorium.

Calls for Action

Urban planner Adil Mohammed Khan, president of the Bangladesh Institute of Planners, criticized the prolonged closure. “It is unthinkable that renovating a park takes seven years. This park is one of the lungs of Dhaka, especially for Old Dhaka, where green spaces are scarce,” he said. Khan urged the government to open the park immediately, even before the final touches are complete, and to investigate the repeated delays to prevent future failures.

New July Memorial Monument

Meanwhile, the government has begun constructing a July Memorial Monument at Osmani Udyan to honor those who participated in the July uprising. Work started on July 23 and is expected to be completed by December, with a budget of Tk 46.40 crore. Eighteen pillars have already been erected.

The monument will feature a 90-foot bronze pillar engraved with the names of July martyrs, standing on a circular platform. Semi-circular sculptures around it will depict key moments in Bangladesh’s history, including the British era, the 1952 Language Movement, the 1971 Liberation War, and the 2024 uprising.

The park entrance will include a symbolic gate shaped like the number “24,” alongside landscaped walkways, an epitaph listing martyrs’ names, and other commemorative features.