The majority of playgrounds in Dhaka city are inaccessible to the public, leaving children without adequate open spaces to play.

Many of these playgrounds are either illegally occupied or under prolonged renovation, which keeps children away from using those places.

Urban planners said that playgrounds are important for children’s physical and mental growth, adding that development would be meaningless if a healthy environment could not be ensured.

At Block-D Mirpur-6, about 75% of the Eidgah field was occupied by an extended makeshift kitchen market.

Many locals said they used to play in the field in their childhood, but it  became unusable for children after a nearby kitchen market was expanded here about seven years ago.

Sadman Ahmed, a man in his thirties, said, ‘I played in the Eidgah Math when I was in class seven, but the area shrank gradually as the kitchen market was extended here.’

‘We had many open places to play,’ he continued, ‘but the current generation was facing an acute space crunch for playing.’

He added that the ruling party activists extended the kitchen market for financial benefit.

Dhaka North City Corporation ward 6 general councillor Md Taijul Islam Chowdhury was not available for comments as he was sick.

DNCC ward 6 secretary Kamal Hossain admitted the illegal occupation of the field but claimed that the city corporation and the ward councillor were not involved in the matter.

Asked why they were not taking any steps, he said, ‘we are allowing this as it is related to the livelihood of some people.’

DNCC chief executive officer Selim Reza could not recall immediately if they had permitted to extend the kitchen market on the playing field.

He claimed that they were giving top priority to saving the playgrounds and open spaces under their jurisdiction.

According to the official document, the land belongs to the National Housing Authority.

On February 1, 2022, DNCC sent a letter to the National Housing Authority chairman demanding to hand over the land to city authorities for constructing a ‘shopping complex-cum community and kitchen market’ following approval from Dhaka North City mayor.

The letter was signed by DNCC chief executive officer Selim Reza, who in his letter claimed that there were no Eid prayers on the ground for about 15-20 years.

Although a good number of playgrounds exist in the capital’s Dhanmondi area, people do not have access to those places.

There is no access for the public to the Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club, where only registered players of the club can practice football and cricket, while academy students can play basketball, badminton, and lawn tennis.

The ground is under the jurisdiction of Dhaka South City Corporation.

Dhanmondi residents said that there was no scope for local people to use the Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club or Kalabagan Club playground.

Dhanmondi Society president Abu Mohammad Sabur said, ‘there is no access for general people at the Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club. The place can be rented for Tk 25,000 for a day, which is very expensive.’

He said that they could not provide an adequate place for children due to the shortage of open spaces.

Abu Mohammad Sabur, also the president of Dhanmondi Cricket Academy, said that they could not accommodate other children when the academy players practice.

He, however, demanded a coordinated, time-bound action plan to make better use of the fields in the Dhanmondi area for children.

Green activists launched a legal battle in 2004 to free the Dhanmondi ground from the garb of the club.

Following a high court order, city authorities conducted a drive but reportedly demolished only two illegal establishments.

Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association chief executive Syeda Rizwana Hasan said that there was no update on their protest about allotting the ground to a club.

She said that a playground could not be given to the management of a club and that there was no system to rent it to others.

‘It is highly political. In our country, the law always gets defeated by politics, instead of politics abiding by the law. In our society, the law is made to surrender to politics,’ she said.

She added that a writ petition regarding the matter is still pending with the court.

Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club governing body chairman Manzur Kader denied renting out the club ground to the public.

‘It is not possible. I can say without any doubt, no member of the club can do this.’

Nasrin Akhter, a resident in Dhanmondi, blamed the increasing number of cricket and football academies in the area for restricting public access to the fields.

Jahangirnagar University urban planning professor and executive director of the Institute for Planning and Development, Adil Mohammed Khan, said that banning people’s access to playgrounds was unjust to them as one open space was required for every 5,000 people.

‘It is unfortunate that we are not using the playgrounds we have due to a lack of proper monitoring and maintenance. It is the duty of the authorities concerned to ensure open spaces for children’s physical and mental growth,’ he said, adding that the illegal occupation by the clubs or other musclemen was held with the engagement of local councillors.

Against the backdrop, the Dhaka South City Corporation is constructing a shopping mall in the Dhupkhola playground at Gendaria under a ‘renovation project’ ignoring the protests of local people and the Jagannath University authorities.

According to the JnU authorities, the university had been using a portion of the 7.47-acre field as its central playground since 1984.

According to the official document, there are eight playgrounds under the Dhaka North City Corporation’s jurisdiction in 54 wards.

The Dhaka South City Corporation spokesperson and public relations officer, Abu Nasher, declined to share information about the number of playgrounds in 75 wards under its jurisdiction.

DSCC chief estate officer Md Rasel Sabrin told New Age that if the academy cricketers were not allowed to play in these playgrounds, how the country would produce players in the coming days was unclear.

Asked about the spaces for children, he said, ‘We are working to create at least one playground in each ward following the mayor’s order. We are keeping the children’s zones in the newly renovated playgrounds. We have freed some illegally occupied spaces from illegal occupation.’

Amid the space crunch for playgrounds under the DNCC, it has taken a project to renovate the playground of Madhubagh in the Moghbazar area, the only playground in the 36 no ward.

According to the project details, the renovation of the 1.5-acre playground began on September 28, 2021, and was scheduled to be completed by 30 October 2022 with an estimated cost of Tk 5.48 crore.

The DNCC document showed 85 per cent progress on the playground’s renovation project, but the recent visit showed many shops and offices occupied the playground.

The playground is currently off-limits to children, and the project is unlikely to be completed anytime soon, local people said.

Shahid Park in Mohammadpur was also undergoing a renovation project, although the renovation project was scheduled to be completed by March 1 this year.

Children and youths were seen playing at the park’s ground about one and a half years ago.

But a recent visit showed various shops surrounding the playground, and the main gate of the ground was found locked.

Asked about the delay in the implementation of those undergoing projects, DNCC chief executive Selim Reza told New Age that sowing new green grass and enriching the ground with modern facilities was causing the delay.

The National Housing Authority is seen constructing buildings occupying the open space in Kalyanpur, which was used by the children as a playground even a year ago.

On September 30, citizens, including local people, socio-political organisations, and students, held protests to protect the land of a playground along Paris Road at Mirpur-11 in the capital.

‘DAP’s (Detailed Area Plan) design also showed the place as open space. But, the National Housing Authority allotted the land, making plots. It cannot be accepted,’ Dhaka North City mayor Atiqul Islam told reporters on the day while expressing solidarity with the protesting students and local people.

According to allottees, the National Housing Authority allotted approximately 70 katha of land to 32 individuals.

National Housing Authority secretary Mohammad Ullah said that they were doing their activities following a master plan.

Asked about the playground along Paris Road being shown as an open space in the DAP design, he refused to elaborate.