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Hatirjheel
(Bengali:
হাতিরঝিল
,
Lake
of
Elephant)
is
a
lakefront
in
Dhaka,
Bangladesh.
Before
2009,
It
was
a
slum
area
that
has
been
transformed
into
a
recreation
area
as
well
as
an
alternate
way
to
ease
traffic
congestion.
The
area
was
constructed
under
Bangladesh
Army
and
the
Special
Works
Organization.
It
is
now
a
popular
recreational
spot
for
residents
of
Dhaka.
History
Legend
has
it
that
the
elephants
of
Dhaka's
Pilkhana
used
to
take
baths
in
these
wetlands
–
hence
the
name
Hatirjheel.
Architect
Iqbal
Habib,
who
heads
the
consultant
firm
of
the
Hatirjheel-Begunbari
development
project,
said
that
the
Bhawal
Raja
used
to
keep
his
tamed
elephants
at
Pilkhana.
He
said
that
the
elephants
were
taken
to
the
wetlands
through
the
Elephant
Road
and
Hatirpool.
Location
Hatirjheel
is
located
at
the
centre
of
the
capital
city,
Dhaka.
Hatirjheel
is
located
at
coordinates
23°44′58.47″N
90°23′48.35″E.
The
area
stretches
from
Sonargaon
Hotel
in
the
south
to
all
the
way
to
Banasree
in
the
north.
The
place
is
surrounded
by
Tejgaon,
Gulshan,
Badda,
Rampura,
Banasree,
Niketon,
and
Maghbazar,
and
it
made
the
transportation
of
the
people
living
near
these
areas
much
easier.
Development
Building
the
entire
site
required
19.71
billion
(19,710
million)
taka
and
an
area
of
302
acres.
From
this,
10.48
billion
(10,480
million)
taka
was
spent
in
acquiring
the
site
itself.
46%
of
the
area
belongs
to
RAJUK,
which
includes
an
area
of
81
acres
for
a
"court
of
walks",
141
acres
for
public
lands
and
1
acre
for
BTV.
The
project
was
first
permitted
in
October
2007,
and
was
said
to
be
completed
within
three
years
(by
June
2010).
However,
the
construction
began
in
December
2008,
which
took
a
further
half
year
for
expanding
it.
The
total
funds
for
creating
the
project
included
the
money
of
RAJUK
(1,113.7
billion
taka),
LGED
(2,760
million)
and
WASA
(866.95
million).
It
has
an
area
of
311.79
acres
while
some
8.80
kilometer
service
road
and
some
8.80
kilometer
expressway
have
been
constructed
under
the
project.
The
entire
area
of
Hatirjheel
is
designed
with
about
four
main
and
four
minor
bridges
(viaducts),
several
overpasses
(flyovers),
footbridges
(overbridges),
8.80
kilometres
of
footpaths,
9.80
kilometers
walkway,
one
children's
park,
and
13
viewing
decks.
There
are
sitting
arrangements
for
pedestrians
by
the
riverside.
A
lake
flows
through
the
heart
of
the
project
with
a
16
km
road
surrounding
it.
During
the
dry
season,
the
Hatirjheel
lake
can
hold
approximately
3.06
billion
liters
of
water,
and
during
the
rainy
season
about
4.81
billion
liters
of
water,
making
it
the
largest
body
of
water
inside
the
capital
of
Bangladesh.
Source:Wikipedia
