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Down to Earth

City’s Community Centres

By ASM Nurunnabi
In Dhaka City, community centres are a source of lucrative business. They are a well-known phenomenon in our urban society. Lately they have proliferated in many areas of the city. They represent a far cry from the days when social functions like weddings. birthday parties, wedding anniversaries etc. used to be held within the four walls of one's house or in space topped by canopy set up in close proximity to one's house. Such practices still continue when the number of guests to these kinds of functions is small. But where the number of guests is large, the limited accommodation capacity in urban settings has gtven rise to the need for hiring a community centre.
There is no dearth of community centres which now dot many important areas of the city. Such centres as venues for important social functions are the result of high demand for such places in the context of our social ethos. In some particular localities. Dhanmondi residential area or Iskaton area, for examples, there are well-known establishments of this nature which draw business throughout the month.
The peak season comes in winter, whereas a compara-tively dull season ensues in the rainy period or in the month of Ramadan for obvious reasons. In a thickly populated city like Dhaka, there is always a steady demand for such places, so much so that it is often necessary to book them well in advance. particularly those with high popularity.
Many of the community centres in the city are spacious enough to accommodate a large number of guests with provision for parking space. Many of such places are at present equipped with air-condition facility.
In general, the basic rent for such places which are well-appointed range from Tk 8.000/-to Tk 12.000/ lor the AC fitted ones lor a day. With this is added charges for hiring furniture. crockery, cutlery, service charge for cook, bearers and cost of illumination, if the function Is held at night.
There are also a number of community centres established in some wards of the city by the Dhaka City Corporation. They have a low profile with limited space and rather poor facilities. Some of them are of such a low standard that they cease to serve as community centres and are used lor a miscellany of purposes such as office, godowns and rickshaw parking space.
As the rent of the City Corporation s community centres is rather low and thus affordable for many with moderate means, they are mostly patronised by low-income groups in neighbouring areas.
There are also some community centres near residential government colonies in the city. The rent for these places is less than those charged for private community centres and offer moderate, if not equal, facilities. Because of their convenient locations, they arc mostly favoured by residents of the colonies.
Outsiders also are eligible for hiring these places. The comparatively favourable terms offered by them for their use act as an incentive both for the residents of the colonies as well as for outsiders.
Observers note a disturbing aspect of the community centres operating in the residential areas of the city. In their opinion. they tend to disturb the peace in such areas and also affect the social structure of the families living there. The traffic situation In those areas is similarly disturbed by the heavy influx of vehicles carrying guests to the centres quite frequently, particularly on hol-
The new ethos of holding social functions In community centre have created a new outlook for the city dwellers because of the prevailing space constraints for holding such functions. Besides, they offer a steady and prized source of income for their owners.
The financial benefits accruing from them have led many entrepreneurs to fa/our construction of such projects in preference to residential housing. With the rising city population. this trend is likely to attain greater pace, whatever be the implications of the government's Guest Control Order, which seems to be followed more in its breach than in its observance.