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Saturday, September 20, 2014

Sreemangal Pourashava Master Plan: 2011-2031


Sreemangal, one of the old Pourashava of British regime, is an “A” class Pourashava that received its ‘Pourashava’ status in 1935. It is an important urban center within Maulvibazar district. Distance of Dhaka-Sreemangal is 170km., from the District Sadar, Maulvibazar it is only 20km. The Divisional Headquarter, Sylhet is 78km. distance from Sreemangal. As a commercial center within the tea producing zone it has good accessibility both by road and rail. It is an important business center on the Akhaura-Shaistaganj-Kulaura rail network from the past. It has potentiality of development as a major trading center in the region. With an area of 2.42 sq. km (as per GIS database) the Pourashava accommodates approximately 19,418 population according to 2001 Population Census. Density of population is 1199 persons in per sq km. The Pourashava comprises of 9 wards. The proposed extended area covers 2.79 sq. km. It has about 73.22 km of road network. The Pourashava accommodates all upazila level government offices and establishments. The only Tea Research Institute of Bangladesh is located at Sreemangal.

It has the highest residential use as 56.30% of its land is under this land use. In next 20 years, as projections show, the gross density of population will reach to 49 persons per acre. It has still a medium level of economic activities and thus potentials to flourish as a vibrant urban center in the near future. Under such circumstances, a Master Plan can help creating advantages for living and working in the Pourashava and help attracting investment for economic growth leading to employment generation. There are not much development activities going on at present as there is lack of organized system of development at present. Current development emphasizes only on road and infrastructural development. Other utilities are generally neglected. The proposed Master Plan will induce such development activities that will ensure proper provisions of utility services, urban services, community facilities and social development opportunities. It will also ensure an automated governance service of the Pourashava and ensure good collection and utilization of its resources and thus enhance the development activities in the future.

The Master Plan is prepared in three tiers - Structure Plan, Urban Area Plan and Ward Action Plan. The Structure Plan provides the policies that will guide the future development of the pourashava. In the Structure Plan of Sreemangal Pourashava, 89.15% land is kept as urban area and the remaining as agricultural, circulation network area and water body to support the future need for food and other agricultural products of the town and to facilitate the future drainage network. The Structure Plan proposes the restructuring of the organogram of the pourashava and inclusion of town planning department comprising four town planners. This will ensure the better implementation and monitoring of the plan. It also proposes the system of periodic review and updating of the plan and the process of resource mobilization.

Urban Area Plan consists four types of Plans - Land Use Plan, Traffic and Transportation Management Plan and Drainage and Environmental Management Plan and, Plan for Urban Services. Under the Land Use Plan, the future land use of the Pourashava is proposed according to the fixed standards during the interim phase of the Master Plan. Land Use Plan proposes 43.59% of the Pourashava land to be earmarked under Urban Residential Zone This zone will form the future residential areas of the Pourashava. Proposals for other land uses, like Commercial Zone (6.14%), Education and Research Zone (3.51%), Open Space (3.51%), Circulation Network (13.06%) etc. are made. Under the Land Use Plan, the development proposals to support the future needs of the people are also given. It proposes, 6 kitchen markets, 1 local market , 5 ward centers, 1 industrial estate, 2 Police Out Post, 9 Primary schools, 2 secondary schools, 1 vocational training institute, 1 college, 1 Stadium, 5  Playgrounds, 2 Corner Parks , 6 Park sand 1 Central Park etc.

In the Traffic and Transportation Management Plan, the Road Network Plan is proposed. The transportation facilities are proposed here in this plan. In the Road Network Plan of the Pourashava   57.41km of road widening and 12.76 km of construction of new road is proposed. The road hierarchy is proposed in this plan too. The proposed road network will comprise of primary road (80 and 60 ft RoW), secondary road (50 and 40 ft RoW), tertiary road (30 and 25 ft RoW) and access road (20 ft. RoW). The proposed road network and the transportation facilities along with the proposed management system will provide a good system of management for future traffic and transportation problems.

Under the Drainage and Environmental Management Plan, the drainage network of the Pourashava is proposed. This plan will analyze drainage aspects in the planning of the pourashava, study geological fault and lineament of the project area and its surroundings, study the existing water development, flood protection and flood control project (if any) in the area and their impacts in the Pourashava plan, present planning options for drainage of the future Pourashava area, study conservation of the natural resources like parks, open space, water bodies, existing ponds etc. and conserve place of historical, architectural (if any) and agricultural importance including natural fisheries. At present, there is 73.43 km of pucca and 6.87 km of katcha man-made drain in the Pourashava and the natural canals and river cover 10.36 km. This network is not enough to support the present need and will not be suitable to support in the future. That is why the consultants proposed a comprehensive network of drains that comprises improvements of 41.46 km existing drain with 8.66 km primary drain, 10.51 km secondary drain and 22.29 km tertiary drain and 26.33 km new which contains 7.85km primary drain, 6.59 km secondary drain and 11.89 km tertiary drain.

The third and final tier of the Master Plan, Ward Action Plan, is prepared including the proposals that will be implemented during the first to fifth year of the Master Plan period. Two or more Ward Action Plans will be prepared under this Master Plan to address the need of the people for the remaining fifteen year’s period of the Master Plan. This first Ward Action Plan, which is described in this report, addresses the urgent needs of the people of the Pourashava and incorporates those in the Master Plan. It analyzes the immediate requirements of the people living in the nine Wards of the Pourashava and then provides facilities in a manner that it supports the particular Ward in the first phase of the Master Plan period of twenty years.

This is the first Master Plan of Sreemangal Pourashava. It is prepared by LGED under Package – 6 of the Upazila Towns Infrastructure Development Project (UTIDP). It is expected that the implementation of the plan will induce higher level of development, ensure planned life, good community and better future.

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