Dhanmondi Lake, its adjoining park and a walkway were revamped through two government development projects in the recent past. The last project was implemented between 2011 and 2013. Before that, improvement work of the lake, including an excavation, was carried out from 1998 to 2001.
People from all walks of life residing in the vicinity of Dhanmondi area have been using the lake for all sorts of purposes - from jogging to dating, or protesting at the amphitheatre. There is even a boating club.
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But day by day the condition of the lake has been deteriorating under the weight of man-made pollution. The situation is particularly bad at one end of the 3-km lake, near Dhanmondi Road 27.
A UNB photojournalist captured photos of the appalling condition of the lake there on Monday.
A full-size mattress along with other dumped items crowding one end of the lake near Road 27, close to thew Bangabandhu Memorial Museum.
The surface of the water is barely visible underneath all the detritus and algae floating on Dhanmondi Lake.
The increasing amount of man-made waste is on its way to fill up the lake which was meant for recreation of city dwellers.
The amount of waste dumped into the lake has turned it stagnant at this end, which in turn will lead to its accelerated destruction.