Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) Mayor Dr Shahadat Hossain said that the guidelines outlined in the master plan must be followed to build a planned Chattogram city.
He said this while speaking as the chief guest at a human chain and rally organized by the Forum for Planned Chattogram on Thursday morning demanding that the plan to build a hospital or any other facility in the Chattogram Circuit House premises be stopped and kept open for public interest. The rally and human chain presided by Professor Muhammad Sikandar Khan and attended by Bangladesh Paribesh Andolan (BAPA), various environmental organizations of Chattogram, civil society and conscious citizens.
Expressing solidarity with the public demand to keep the historic Circuit House premises open, the mayor said that the hospital will be built on a 9-acre site of the CCC located in Kalurghat.
Architect Jerin Hossain said in the human chain that open spaces and green spaces are not a luxury but a necessity for a healthy and beautiful city life for children, adolescents, young people and the elderly.
Writer and journalist Abul Momen said that the Chattogram Circuit House is the bearer of Chattogram's heritage and a unique common symbol, which is an essential duty of the state to preserve.
Professor Dr. Shafiq Haider Chowdhury said at the rally that the Circuit House area, a special landmark of Chattogram city, must be preserved as an open ground.
Professor Dr. Manjurul Kibria of the Department of Zoology, Chattogram University said that from an architectural point of view, this Circuit House is an urban heritage and historical place built during the British colonial period. The importance of open spaces in a fair city is immense because it is directly related to the quality of life, environmental stability and social well-being of the city.
Professor Md. Sikandar Khan said, the Forum of Planned Chattogram has been holding rallies and seminars demanding planned urbanization for a long time. But unfortunately, we did not get any mayor with us. Today, Dr. Shahadat Hossain has expressed solidarity with our demands by attending this human chain. We sincerely congratulate and appreciate him. And we hope that he will be with us in the future as well.
Engineers A.B.M.A. Baset, Shakti Shahinul Islam Khan, architect Ahmed Jinnur Chowdhury, Halima Begum, environmental activists Noman Ullah Bahar, Arshad Hossain, Mohiuddin Mukul, architect Adar Yusuf, Nazrul Azad, and others also spoke at the human chain. The rally and human chain program was moderated by Bangladesh Environment Movement (BAPA) Chattogram General Secretary S.M. Bakhtiar.
