Gulshan Thana

Gulshan (Bengali: গুলশান) is an affluent and the wealthiest neighbourhood in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.[1][2][3] A residential area, Gulshan is now home to a number of the city's restaurants, shopping centres, schools and members' clubs. The neighbourhood also hosts the majority of embassies and high commissions in Dhaka.

This article is about the neighbourhood in Dhaka. For other uses, see Gulshan (disambiguation).

Gulshan Thana

Gulshan Thana (By towns)
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
Established 1972*
Area 53.59 km2*
Population 281337 (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

History

Gulshan was founded as a planned model town in 1961 with its own Pourashabha (municipal corporation), while the neighbouring Banani Model Town was founded in 1964. Gulshan Thana was established in 1972.[4] Gulshan Pourashabha was abolished in 1982.[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. Gulshan is now a mix of a serene residential area and also a city centre with shopping malls and commercial buildings. The Gulshan city centre only consists of Gulshan, Baridhara and Banani. The Thana of Gulshan also includes the neighborhood of Mohakhali to the southwest.

On January 3, 2017, at approximately 2:30 a.m. BST midnight,[7] a fire broke out in a local market, DCC in Gulshan.[8][9]

Geography

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 the diplomatic area. 18% land in Gulshan consists of other areas, including slums, of which the biggest is the Karail slum and Gulshan Lake. Apart from the urban areas, the 37 mouzas of Gulshan Thana also contain 20 villages.

Gulshan is a commercial and residential area, originally meant for offices and embassies of diplomatic missions, as well as residences.[2] The area has seen an upsurge, since the mid-1990s, in the number of high-rise buildings, restaurants, residential areas, modern markets and ice-cream parlors which are open past midnight. The independent houses of the 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.

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 underwater for a prolonged duration during the 1998 Bangladesh floods. 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]

Demography

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 47 against the national average .[14] 93.65% of the Gulshan population are Muslims, and refer to themselves as "Gulshanis".

Urban layout
Partial view of Gulshan & Mohakhali areas of Gulshan Thana

Thoroughfares in the area are beautified by major cellphone companies of Bangladesh.[16] There are 25 mosques in this area, including Gulshan Azad Mosque and Banani Bazaar Mosque. The area features a number of churches and Christian missions, including that of the Missionaries of Charity.

Commercial activities
International brand stores in Gulshan
Food: Baskin-Robbins • Mövenpick • Pizza Hut • Coffee World • A&W • Pizza Inn • Butlers Chocolate Cafe • KFC • Gloria Jean's Coffees • Nando's • New Zealand Natural • Burger King • Cold Stone Creamery • Herfy • Second Cup • Secret Recipe • Chatime • Tony Roma's • Kebab Turki Baba Rafi • The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf • Marble Slab Creamery • Johnny Rockets • CP • Pastamania • Domino's Pizza • Pyongyang
Clothes and accessories: Levi's • Puma • Nike • Reebok • United Colors of Benetton • Uniqlo • Gucci • Adidas • Hush Puppies • Bata • Lotto • Raymond • Giordano • Zara • Satya Paul • Armani • Omega • Rolex • Kelme • Crocodile and many other international stores
Cars: BMW • Mercedes-Benz • Volvo and many more
Hotels: Westin • Four Points • Amari • Days Hotel • Century Park Residence • Renaissance
Others: Archies • Hallmark • Miniso • Nokia Care • Siemens • Samsonite • Kohler • Samsung • Sony • Canon • Apple • M.A.C. • Inglot • The Body Shop • Ashley HomeStore and many more

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, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., The Himalaya Drug Company, Siemens, Nokia Siemens Networks, Sony Ericsson, Ericsson, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, The Coca-Cola Company and Microsoft.

There are some 45 boutiques, markets, bazaars and shopping centers in Gulshan. There also are mega-stores such as Nandan, Agora, Aarong, Unimart, Meena Baazar and Lavender. There are also many shopping mall like Shopper's World, Pink City and the ABC Shopping Complex. A plethora of food, bank and fashion outlets are located all over the area.

Entertainment
The Westin Dhaka at Gulshan circle-2

The area hosts a number of private clubs. 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.

There is a 250-room five star hotel, Westin, located at circle-2.[20]

Health
icddr,b head office at Mahakhali

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 LifeLine in Mohakhali, and Nova Medical Center, Peerless Diagnostic & 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]

Diplomatic missions

Source: Embassy World

Education

Universities

Secondary schools
  • Gulshan circle-2
  • Gulshan Avenue
  • Gulshan
  • A Neighborhood in Gulshan
  • Doreen Tower at Gulshan 2

Footnotes and references
  1. Islam, Kajalie Shehreen (16 June 2004). "The Death of Dhaka's Posh Spots". Daily Star. Retrieved 16 December 2007.
  2. Khan, Imran H. (10 August 2003). "Through the Windscreen". Daily Star. Retrieved 16 December 2007.
  3. Jail for Bangladeshi businessman, BBC, 7 June 2007; Retrieved: 2007-12-16
  4. Ahmed, Syed Shabbir (2012). "Gulshan Thana". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  5. Ghafur, Shayer (21 April 2006). "The Future of Gulshan South Park". Daily Star. Retrieved 15 November 2006.
  6. Syed Ali Mortuza, Rural-urban Migration in Bangladesh: Causes and Effects, page 59, Dietrich Reimer, Berlin 1992
  7. "Fire engulfs Gulshan DCC Market". Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  8. "Massive fire tears through Dhaka market, causes partial collapse". Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  9. "Fire still at DCC market, owners fear sabotage". 3 January 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  10. Flood Study for Gulshan, Banani, Baridhara, Institute of Water Modelling (IWM), Bangladesh; Retrieved: 2007-12-14
  11. Prof Mustafizur Rahman Tarafdar, Floods, rains and Dhaka city drainage, The Daily Star, 2007-12-14, Environment; Retrieved: 2007-12-14
  12. City Correspondent (13 October 2003). "Relocating Gulshan drains to reduce lake pollution". Daily Star. Retrieved 16 December 2007.
  13. Rahman, Avik Sanwar (20 October 2003). "Wading through sewage in a posh area". Daily Star. Retrieved 16 December 2007.
  14. "Population Census Wing, BBS". Archived from the original on 27 March 2005. Retrieved 10 November 2006.
  15. Male 55.22%; female 44.78%
  16. Sadique, Mahfuz (4 February 2005). "Dhaka's facelift: Untamed beauty". New Age. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 17 April 2007.
  17. "Entertainment". Tourist Attractions. Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation. Archived from the original on 7 August 2007. Retrieved 20 August 2007.
  18. Official Site of American Club, Dhaka
  19. Geocities: BAGHA Club
  20. Westin, Dhaka at Yahoo Travels; Retrieved: 2007-12-14
  21. icddr,b icddr,b
  22. Local Health Care Providers, American International School, Dhaka; Retrieved: 2007-12-14
  23. Medical directory, TimeMachine.com; Retrieved: 2007-12-14
  24. Medical services, BisnessInfo Bangladesh; Retrieved: 2007-12-14
  25. http://zums.edu.bd/

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