Gulistan () is one of the busiest

commercial area Commercial area, commercial district or commercial zone in a city is an area, district, or neighborhoods primarily composed of commerce, commercial buildings, such as a strip mall, business parks, office parks, downtown, central business distric ...

s in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. A major transportation node, it originated around a now-demolished Pakistan-era cinema hall and is now a hub for commercial activity, particularly consumer goods. The area houses several important government establishments, including the

Bangabandhu National Stadium National Stadium, Dhaka () is a multipurpose sports arena and the national stadium of Bangladesh. Located in the Motijheel area of Dhaka, it is predominantly used for Association football, football matches and serves as the home venue for the B ...

. However, Gulistan suffers from issues such as overcrowding, traffic congestion, and criminal activity due to its dense population and commercial nature.

Description

Gulistan is a major transportation node in the city, serving as a key transfer point for public transit routes and inter-district road connections. The area spans from the eastern side of

Bangabandhu Avenue Shaheed Abrar Fahad Avenue (), formerly Bangabandhu Avenue and Jinnah Avenue, is an urban road situated in Gulistan, Dhaka, Bangladesh. History Its first name was Jinnah Avenue, named after Muhammad Ali Jinnah who is the founder governor-genera ...

to the vicinity of

Bangabhaban The Bangabhaban () is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of Bangladesh, located on Bangabhaban Road, and short road connecting Dilkusha, Dhaka, Dilkusha Avenue, Dhaka. It is surrounded by the Bangabhaban Gardens (fo ...

, the official presidential residence. Its northern boundary extends from the Nagar Bhaban to the

Paltan Paltan is a thana (precinct) of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. It is often said to be the center of Dhaka, dividing "Old Dhaka" and "New Dhaka". Paltan was made a thana in 2005 by then Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia. Paltan Thana was forme ...

intersection. Gulistan's appearance has been drastically transformed over the years, with former green spaces replaced by dense construction of multi-story buildings along wide roads. It continues to attract heavy foot traffic and vehicular congestion from people across the city and country who converge there to earn livelihoods or access services. One of the few remnants of its former state is the presence of some horse-drawn carriages amid the modern urban landscape. There is a major bus stand situated in Gulistan, called the Gulistan (Fulbaria) Bus Station, built on the site of the former Fulbaria railway station. The Gulistan–Jatrabari Flyover was opened in October 2013 to ease traffic jams and reduce travel time from the usual one hour to just five minutes.

History

Origins

Gulistan derives its name from a cinema hall named for the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

word , built by businessman Khan Bahadur Fazle Dosani from

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

, inaugurated in 1953 by Aga Khan. The three-storey building, initially named Liberty, served as Dhaka's first modern air-conditioned theatre and became a prominent cultural and entertainment centre in the 1950s and 1960s, showcasing films from both

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

and

West Pakistan West Pakistan was the western province of Pakistan between One Unit, 1955 and Legal Framework Order, 1970, 1970, covering the territory of present-day Pakistan. Its land borders were with Afghanistan, India and Iran, with a maritime border wit ...

. Additionally, the area was renowned for a Mughal-era cannon. However, the cinema hall was demolished in 2005, and the cannon was some time relocated to Osmani Udyan. Once considered the busiest commercial hub in Dhaka, the area experienced heavy vehicular and pedestrian traffic at all hours due to its concentration of shopping, entertainment, and dining establishments that drew visitors from across the city. Among the notable former businesses were Chow Chin Chow, reportedly Dhaka's first Chinese restaurant that introduced local residents to

Chinese cuisine Chinese cuisine comprises cuisines originating from Greater China, China, as well as from Overseas Chinese, Chinese people from other parts of the world. Because of the Chinese diaspora and the historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine ...

. Gulistan was also home to Baby Ice Cream, cited as the city's pioneer

ice cream parlor Ice cream parlors (American English) or ice cream parlours (British English) are parlor that sell ice cream, gelato, sorbet, and/or frozen yogurt to consumers. Ice cream is typically sold as regular ice cream (also called hard-packed or hard- ...

. With its diverse array of retail stores, cinemas, and culinary offerings, Gulistan historically served as a popular destination for shopping, entertainment, and dining in central Dhaka before undergoing changes over the years.

Notable incidents

On 7 March 2023, at least 17 people were killed and hundreds injured in the

2023 Gulistan explosion On 7 March 2023, an explosion happened in a market in Dhaka, Bangladesh killing at least 17 people while more than 140 were injured. The explosion took place at around 5:00 p.m local time in a busy market building in Siddiq Bazaar in Old Dhaka. ...

near the BRTC bus counter. Experts pointed the cause of the explosion to a

gas leak A gas leak refers to a leak of natural gas or another gaseous product from a pipeline or other containment into any area where the gas should not be present. Gas leaks can be hazardous to health as well as the environment. Even a small leak into ...

Points of interest

Gulistan houses numerous significant institutions and sites of interest. It is home to the headquarters of the

Dhaka South City Corporation Dhaka South City Corporation (), is a local governing body that manages all civic services in the southern part of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The DSCC government is elected by popular vote every five years. It is headed by a mayor, who p ...

( Nagar Bhaban), and the central offices of major entities like the

Awami League The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...

political party. Notable landmarks include the National Book Centre, General Post Office (GPO), and the

and Hockey Stadium sporting venues. The area also encompasses cultural attractions like the Mohanagar Natyamancha theater and the Golap Shah Mazar shrine. In addition to institutional and religious sites, Gulistan is a thriving commercial hub containing major markets and shopping complexes. These include the Hall Market, Pir Yameeni Market, and Khaddar Bazaar Shopping Complex, as well as the Hotel Ramna. Gulistan houses the Gulistan Underground Market, a commercial area housed in a four-way underground pedestrian passage.

Issues

Gulistan has gained notoriety for overcrowding, poor sanitation, drug abuse, pickpocketing,

racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercion, coercive, fraud, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. ...

and other criminality such as

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...

and begging. Despite repeated eviction drives by

, illegal street hawkers and vendors continue occupying roads and pavements, exacerbating traffic congestion and pedestrian difficulties, at times resulting in clashes and even gunfire.

References

{{Coord, 23, 43, 30, N, 90, 24, 38, E, display=title Transport in Dhaka