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Standing ground against grabbers

AVIK SANWAR RAHMAN
The Modhubagh playground, a breeding base for many of the country's prominent sportsmen and a place that provides for community recreation, is constantly fighting against hawkish land grabbers and developers.
The ground, the only open space available for the roughly five lakh inhabitants of the area, became a popular getaway for the locals after it was declared an 'abandoned property' under the Abandoned Property Act, 1972.
Hundreds of children and youngsters from Modhubagh, Noyatola, Shiddeshwari, Moghbazar and adjacent areas play cricket, football and enjoy other sporting activities at this ground.
However, a conspiracy is on since the early 90's to take over the ground and turn it into a real estate project .
Residents complain that some developers are trying to obtain possession of this public land. There is an allegation that they are trying to win over the support of the influential persons of the community by bribing them.
But so far, locals and two
youth-based institutions have fought off the evil designs.
"Despite repeated attempts those greedy people haven't been able to capture the ground thanks mainly to the awareness of the local people, the Noyatola Kamil Madrassah and the Modhubagh Kisholoy Shongho," informs Kamrul Murshed Khoka.
The Modhubagh Kisholoy Shongho is a club of the community's teenagers and youths and is based at ground. It has a cricket team playing in the lower divisions. The Kamil Madrassah uses a part of the field as its entrance.
"The field has been reduced to almost a half from its original 5.2-acre area when it was abandoned in 1972. At present we have an area of 2.36 acres, " said Moinuddinn Ali Ahmed, a founder member of Kisholoy Shongho.
To contest a case against the land grabbers in court and to bear the expenses of the club, Kisholoy Shongho have built a kitchen-market on .33 acres of the ground. But encroachers are ever active around the field. Some local musclemen have forcibly taken over 1.1 acres while nearly one-fourth of it is now a dumping ground for
household wastes.
The garbage dumping has created strong resentment among the residents. The encroachment and environmental pollution is a worry for Md. Moslehuddin, who is the viceprincipal of Kamil Madrassah.
"We used to arrange two main Eid congregations at this field every year. In the present context, it is not possible anymore," he said.
If the ground is eventually taken over by the developers or encroachers, the worst sufferers could be the children who have nowhere else to go for playing.
"If this playground is snatched from us it will just become a 'home to school and back' kind of life for us," feared Leon, a student of class VIII of Ideal school.
The children want the ground to have a permanent identity. "The mayor had promised that a mini stadium would be built here. We want to know if he still remembers that pledge," said Sumon as he along with a few friends practiced cricket.
“President Ziaur Rahman in the 80’s had declared the field as a public playground at a rally. We understand that if there is a
presidential pledge on something, it is as good as a law,” said Kamrul Murshed Khoka.
Current Bangladesh cricket captain Khaled Mahmud grew up playing on the Modhubagh ground and he too sees the tension and uncertainty surrounding the field as an impending doom.
"Only two public fields remain under the Ramna Police Station, one is at Siddeshwari and the other at Modhubagh. If playgrounds continue to disappear then the future of cricket is sure to feel the adverse effects because budding players will have no place to enhance their talents," said Mahmud.
Despite the shadow of encroachment and hawkish developers looming over their favourite ground, people of Modhubagh continue to defy the odds.
A few days ago locals showed their innovative side through arranging a day-night cricket match at the field by renting high-powered searchlights on the occasion of the World Cup in South Africa. That was just one of many inspired acts by a community that stands to lose its heart to a concrete invasion.