The Aminbazar-Hemayetpur section of the Dhaka-Aricha highway is being freed from the rubbish dump and stench that have plagued it for years. Final cleaning and beautification work is now under way on the stretch, which has caused misery for travellers and local people for nearly two decades.

The Dhaka district administration said that once the work is complete, the Prime Minister will soon formally open the refurbished road by planting a tree. The information came from district administration sources on the afternoon of 18 August.

Earlier that morning, State Minister for Local Government Mir Shahe Alam and Dhaka Deputy Commissioner Farida Khanam inspected the cleaning and beautification work on the Aminbazar-Hemayetpur highway.

The district administration said that after the waste dumped beside the highway over many years was removed, sand and soil were laid at designated spots to prepare the land. Coconut, betel nut, neem and other species of tree have been planted there, along with a special type of grass to hold the soil.

Strong net fencing has been put up at various points so that no one can dump waste beside the highway again without permission.

After the inspection, Mir Shahe Alam said thousands of people from different parts of the country use this important highway every day, and travellers have long suffered because of the rubbish and stench. "That picture is now going to change," he said, adding that travellers will soon see green trees and a pleasant landscape beside the highway instead of a rubbish dump.

Deputy Commissioner Farida Khanam said landfill management in the area has been modernised, and strict legal action will be taken against anyone who dumps waste on the highway or nearby outside the designated landfill.

She said there are plans to install two windmills in the area once the beautification work is finished. The renewable electricity they generate will be used to light streetlights along about one and a half kilometres of the highway.

Those involved hope that if the cleaning, greening and modern waste management are carried through, this stretch of the Aminbazar-Hemayetpur highway will leave behind its long reputation for stench and rubbish and become clean and attractive.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.