Gulshan Thana (By towns) |
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| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Wards | 72, 73, 74 |
| Parliamentary Seat | Dhaka 17 (Gulshan-Dhaka Cantonment-Baridhara and major portions of Wards 15 and 20) |
| Municipality | Dhaka |
| Coordinates | 23°48' N, 90°25' E |
| RAB Area | RAB 1 |
| Information | |
Gulshan lake view (2005) |
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| Established | 1972* |
| Area | 53.59 km²* |
| Population | 28,1337 (Density 5250/km²)* |
| HQ | Gulshan Circle 2 |
| Neighboring Thanas | Kafrul, Badda, Tejgaon, Khilgaon, Dhaka Cantonment* |
| Website | DMP Map of Gulshan Thana |
| * Bangladesh National Census Data, 1991 | |
Gulshan (Bengali: গুলশান) is an affluent neighborhood of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.[1][2][3] It is home to Bangladesh's wealthiest residents, including the billionaire Musa Bin Shamsher.
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Gulshan was founded as a planned model town in 1961 with its own Pourashabha (municipal corporation), while the neighboring Banani Model Town was founded in 1964. Gulshan Thana was established in 1972. Gulshan Pourashabha was abolished in 1982.[4][5] In 1984, Gulshan, along with Mirpur municipality, was absorbed into Dhaka.[6]
The area was originally built with the purpose of being solely residential, however, over the years many commercial buildings have been set up. The celebrated scenic view of the area, dominated by the Gulshan Lake, is detoriating.[1] The reason often stated is a lack of urban planning.[7] Availability and use of recreational drugs, including yaba, has become a problem for the area since early 2000s.[8][9]
The Gulshan thana comprises an area of 53.59 km², consisting of three wards (72, 73 and 74), 37 mouzas and 20 villages, including Gulshan Model Town, consisting of Gulshan circle 1 and circle 2, Banani Model Town, Baridhara Diplomatic Zone, and Mohakhali. 50% of the area is residential, 20% commercial, and 12% is diplomatic area.[5] 18% land in Gulshan consists of other areas, including slums, of which the biggest is the Karail slum. Apart from the urban areas, the 37 mouzas of Gulshan thana also contain 20 villages.[5]
Gulshan is a commercial cum residential area, originally meant for offices and embassies of diplomatic missions, as well as posh residences.[2] The area has seen an upsurge, since mid-1990s, in the number of high-rise buildings, posh restaurants, lavish residential areas, modern markets and ice-cream parlors which are open past midnight. The independent houses of early 1970s that stood far from each other in Gulshan area have vanished because of the commercial boom, to the point of old residents claiming it is not a residential area anymore.[1] The traffic jams due to a lack of parking space and increased traffic activity for private schools and local clubs are have added to the problems, as well as a vanishing lake, flooded streets and growing slums.[1] The increasing crowd of English-medium schools along road 55 in Gulshan Circle 2 is a particular area of concern.[2] The Banani area faces further problems in the form of private university and shopping complex crowds, as well as rundown roads that has a lack of street lights.[1]
Though Gulshan, Banani and Baridhara, as well as Uttara and other satellite towns like Bashundhara are relatively on higher lands, substantial part the Gulshan thana area remained under water for a prolonged duration during the 1998 Bangladesh flood. Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA) conducted a survey to investigate the causes of and remedial measures in 1998 with particular focus on the Gulshan Lake and the Gulshan and Banani canals. Flood water runoff flows into these water bodies practically turning these into buffer flood control reservoirs, except some pockets of transient water-logging.[10][11] Drains and sewerage pipes dumping wastes in the Gulshan lake has been identified as major pollution problem by DWASA.[12] The malodorous wastes tend to spill over when the roads are flooded.[13]
As per 1991 Bangladesh census,[14] Gulshan had a population of 281,337.[15] Many of Dhaka's richest reside here. 21.59% of residents are occupied with commerce, while 40.92% are service professionals. Average literacy rate of the area is 59.7% for people over the age of 7 against the national average of 32.4%.[14] 93.65% of the Gulshan population are Muslims.
Most foreign diplomatic missions in Bangladesh area located in Gulshan or Baridhara Diplomatic Zone. Thoroughfares in the area are beautified by major cellphone companies of Bangladesh.[16] There are 25 mosques in this area[5], including Gulshan Azad Mosque and Banani Bazaar Mosque. The area features a number of churches and Christian missions[5], including that of the Missionaries of Charity.
| International brand stores in Gulshan |
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| Food: Baskin-Robbins • Mövenpick • Pizza Hut • Coffee World • A&W • Wimpy • KFC |
| Clothes: Levi's • Dockers • Nike • Reebok • United Colors of Benetton • Uniqlo • Gucci • Adidas • Hush Puppies |
| Cars: BMW • Mercedes-Benz • Volvo |
| Hotels: Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts • Marriott Hotels • Westin Hotels |
| Others: Archies Ltd. • Hallmark • Nokia Care • Ethan Allen Interiors • Siemens • Samsonite • IKEA |
Many local and multinational companies have their local headquarters located in Gulshan, including Nokia, Grameenphone, Banglalink, Augere, Standard Chartered Bank, P&G, GSK, Reckitt Benckiser, Siemens, Nokia Siemens Networks, Sony Ericsson, Ericsson, Coca Cola and Pepsi.
There are some 45 boutiques, markets, bazaars and shopping centres in Gulshan. Most notable are Gulshan Shopping Centre, Navana Shopping Centre, Banani Bazar, DCC Market I, DCC Market II, Alam Market, Shahzadpur Bazar, and Iqbal Centre. There also are mega-stores such as Nandan, Agora, Aarong, Shopper's World, Pink City shopping mall and the ABC Shopping Complex.[5] A plethora of food, bank and fashion outlets are located all over the area.
The area hosts a number of elite private clubs.[5] While the Gulshan Club[17] and International Club have their own policies, most of the rest are sponsored by the various diplomatic missions. These include the American Recreation Association (American Club)[18], the Canadian Club[17], the Dutch Club[17], the Australian Club (membership also available to New Zealanders), the Nordic Club (membership available to citizens of Scandinavian countries) and the German Club (membership available to EU citizens)[17]. The BAGHA (British Aid Guest House Association) Club falls under the British High Commission umbrella and also accepts membership from EU citizens. [19] While it is not a club as such, the quarters of the American Embassy's Marine Guard unit maintains a small private bar.
It also features Wonder Land, a children's theme park. There is a 250 room five star hotel, Westin, located at circle 2.[20]
The headquarters of ICDDR,B is in Mahakhali.[21] Gulshan Mother and Child Clinic (Gulshan Maa O Shishu Clinic), Gulshan Group Clinic, Retina and Eye Center, DNS Diagnostics and Telemedicine, Sikder's Women's Hospital, Ear Care Center, and Balaka Pharmacy are in Gulshan Model Town.[22] The Dental Studio, Sarah Dental Clinic, and Johnson's Dental Clinic are in Banani Model Town.[22] The Apollo Hospital is in Bashundhara.[22] There also Japan Bangladesh Friendship Hospital in Gulshan, Aysha Memorial Specialized Hospital and Life Line in Mohakhali, and Nova Medical Center, Peerless Diagnistic & Treatment Centre and Prince Medical Center in Banani.[23] There also Midway Clinic, Adventist Dental Clinic, Modern Clinic & Blood Center and Shifa Pharmacy in Gulshan, Christian Medical Hospital in Baridhara, and Metropolitan Medical Center and Marie Stopes Clinic in Mohakhali.[24]
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Source: Embassy World
