Most parks and open spaces in Old Dhaka have virtually turned wastelands, parking spaces of pushcarts and rickshaw vans and safe havens for drug peddlers, addicts and other criminals, worsening the acute shortage of much needed open spaces for residents of the densely populated area to breathe in fresh air.

In daytime, local youths use the parks and open spaces as playgrounds or vagabonds use those as their homes. At night, drug peddlers, customers, floating sex workers and their clients roam the areas.

Locals say the drug addicts are mainly involved in mugging pedestrians and others.

The DCC owns 47 parks and open spaces, some 12 of those in the old part of the city.

At English Road Park and Bangshal Park on Wednesday night, local youths were seen taking drugs and a number of floating sex workers moving about for clients.

Makeshift tea stalls and bus counters, parking of vehicles and garbage piles have made the parks anything but places for fresh air and recreation.

Boundary fences, electric poles and facilities for children's play in most parks are either damaged or stolen. Floating people have also set up makeshift shelters in many parks to live in. They turn up at night but disappear in daytime.

Bus counters have been erected around Sirajuddowla Park and transport companies have occupied Armanitola field park vehicles. Encroachers have dumped bricks and sand in Samsabad Mahallah field.

Even the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC), custodian of the parks, dump waste materials in some of those, particularly Bahadur Shah Park and English Road Park.

Abdur Razzak Khadem, executive engineer of Zone-2 of the DCC, where the parks are situated, admitted the poor condition of 'some parks'.

He however said renovation of some of the parks will be carried out soon. About encroachment on Sirajuddowla Park and Samsabad Mahallah field, he said he would

look into it.

"No one dares to visit any park in Old Dhaka although there are very limited open spaces for a large number of people," said Nazimuddin, general secretary of Dhaka Mahanagar Samity, an organisation of more than 20 lakh residents of the area.

He demanded setting up a park in Dhaka Central Jail area when it is shifted elsewhere.

Meanwhile, locals have taken the responsibility to look after Bahadur Shah Park and engaged two care-

takers for the job.

"Amid increasing demand for open space, we recovered the park from encroachers, drug peddlers, addicts and muggers. Those who pay Tk 10 a month are allowed to enter the park,"" said Abdul Qayum, a local businessman.

DCC Chief Estate Officer Abu Taleb said, "It is the duty of zonal offices to see what is going wrong with the parks and inform us to take action." In the recent past, he did not get any such information, he added.