Prime Minister Tarique Rahman inaugurated a roadside afforestation and beautification campaign on October 18, 2026, by planting a tree sapling near the Aminbazar broken bridge along the Dhaka-Aricha highway, transforming a waste dumping ground into a landscaped green space.
What was once a waste mound along the capital’s major gateway has undergone a transformation. The stretch along the Dhaka-Aricha highway in Aminbazar—previously marred by piles of garbage—now features a landscaped boulevard designed to improve local air quality and roadside aesthetics.
From Garbage Heaps to the Rupantar Project
The rehabilitation effort, officially titled the Rupantar project, took shape following directives from the prime minister. Local administration teams cleared 10,000 tons of accumulated waste from a four-kilometer corridor along the highway’s Aricha-bound lane under the supervision of Dhaka District Commissioner Farida Khanam.
Workers filled the cleared land with 8,800 square meters of soil and an equal measure of sand, stabilized the embankments with palisading, and constructed 20 surface drains alongside a service shed to manage water runoff according to project records. To prevent soil erosion, crews planted Napier, Durba, and Binna grasses across the banks.
Greening the Dhaka-Aricha Highway With Thousands of New Saplings
The beautification drive introduced a dense canopy of regional flora and ornamental greenery spanning a width of 10 to 25 meters across the four-kilometer stretch. In total, workers planted 6,585 individual trees and decorative plants designed to restore ecological balance.
Beyond botanical enhancements, the corridor received sustainable infrastructure upgrades. Crews installed 120 electric lights for nighttime illumination, two solar power systems with a one-kilowatt capacity each, and an experimental one-kilowatt wind turbine to showcase renewable energy integration along the highway.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman Calls for Local Stewardship and Expansion
During Sunday’s inauguration ceremony, the prime minister emphasized that maintaining the newly recovered environment requires active participation from those living and working nearby rather than resting solely on state intervention.
You who are local residents know what the condition of this place was two months ago. And today, after almost two months, what a transformation this place has undergone! For the people of this four-kilometer area, the place is now not only pleasant to look at, but it has also become easier to breathe in a good environment. Prime
He further urged local factory owners operating along the highway to take responsibility for adopting and maintaining adjacent vacant patches of land to push the green initiative beyond its current four-kilometer boundary. Officials noted that Dhaka District Commissioner Farida Khanam established a strong benchmark for administrative execution.
Through this initiative, Dhaka District Commissioner Farida Khanam has set an example for the district commissioners of the country's other 63 districts. Prime
The administration hopes similar eco-friendly reclamation models will take root in districts across the country as local bodies look to eliminate chronic roadside waste sites and curb urban environmental degradation.