Having taken the responsibility of beautifying the spot in December 2005 for three years, the Unicom Urban Development immediately started selling spaces for advertisement in the area. The company totally ignored the requirements for beautification under which it had been entrusted with the responsibility.

Officials of the DCC's Dhaka City Beautification Cell said that the company was given the responsibility of beautification illegally by the officials of now-defunct Mohakhali flyover construction project. They said that the flyover project officials, manned by officials of the Roads and Highways Department (RHD), had nothing to do in the beautification of the city.

"It was illegally handed over to a company simply for making money," said an official. "The proof is there, since they took over the spot they (Unicom) has done nothing but selling ad spaces worth crores of taka."

The entire city has been subjected to unplanned advertisement hoardings indiscriminately put up on every corner. There are many hoardings in the city that have been installed on footpaths, roads and playgrounds.

Residents of Mohakhali area accused the DCC of creating vision pollution by putting up unplanned hoardings everywhere in the city. They said there are hardly any measures taken for beautification in the area. "For the last one year I have not seen anyone or any company planting any tree under Mohakhali flyover," said Khairul Alam, a resident of Mohakhali.

Raisul Ahsan, business development manager of Unicom, admitted that beautification of the area is going on in a slow pace.

"The area in which we are supposed to plant trees and shrubs for beautification does not receive sufficient sunlight and rainwater as it is under the bridge. It's not easy to do the job,” said Ahsan.

"We took the area under the flyover for beautification from Dhaka Transport Coordination Board (DTCB) of RHD," he said.

The DCC's Beautification cell has so far awarded 80 private and state-owned companies different road islands and medians for beautification. Under the terms and conditions each company can display three billboards, advertising its own company. If the company sells the spaces to outsiders, DCC taxes must be paid.

At Mohakhali flyover Unicom has already sold 30 advertisement spaces, each for a yearly charge of Tk 4.6 lakh.

Officials of the now-defunct flyover construction project said that they had awarded the company under written instruction by the Ministry of Communications.

"The ministry asked us to process the papers for handing over the space to Unicom and accordingly we had to abide by the ministerial order," said a former official of the flyover construction project. It may be mentioned that the son of an influential minister owns the ad agency.

Commander Sohel Farouquie, DCC's chief conservancy officer, and member Secretary of the beautification cell, said that the RHD handed over the spot under Mohakhali flyover to a private company. But he did know anything about the terms and conditions under which the company is supposed to beautify the spot.