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Plea to PM

Environmentalists want her to free Dhanmondi playground

Staff Correspondent
Courts felt embarrassed, city authorities dodged responsibilities and the occupiers cared a fig for the laws, labelled their peaceful demonstrations as vandalism and sued them for their rightful demand.
However, the environmentalists were undeterred and continued campaigning for freeing Dhanmondi-8 playground from illegal occupation of Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club. And now when their cries seemingly fall on deaf ears of different authorities, they have turned to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her intervention in saving the playground.
"We appeal to the prime minister to free the playground for all, as she herself is sensitive to environmental issues," said Prof Abdullah Abu Sayeed, vice-president of Bangladesh ParibeshAndolon (Bapa).
He made the appeal at a press conference of Dhanmondi Math Raksha Andolon, an allied movement of some 50 green groups, at the Jatiya Press Club yesterday.
In the absence of parks and playgrounds, most youths and children in the capital suffer from obesity and depression as they spend their life confined to the four walls of their houses, said Abu Sayeed, recipient of Ramon Magsaysay Award.
"We have no objection to naming the playground after the founding father's son Sheikh lamal as long as the facility remains open to all,” he said. "But should the name be exploited to serve the ends of an elitist business club, which is making the public playground an exclusive zone?"
"We now appeal to the prime minister, who is the chief executive of the
country, as the city corporation, police and the public works ministry have not freed the playground in compliance with a 2009 High Court order and a 2011 judgment," he continued.
One may recall that the immediate past administrator of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) told The Daily Star on May 22 that freeing the playground ultimately depends on directives of the Prime Minister's Office, as the occupying club bears the name of a member of the Bangabandhu family.
Architect Iqbal Habib, joint secretary of Bapa, former national cricket captain Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu were present at the programme.
Architect Mubasshar Hussain, convenor of the movement, said that the playground was earmarked as an open park in the 1958 master plan of Dhanmondi residential area.
The club, formerly known as Dhanmondi Club and renamed in 2009, has been at the playground for around five decades without any authorisation. And last year, they barred public access to the playground, making it open only to club members.
In December 2009, the HC restrained any organisations - public or private - from altering the original
character of Dhanmondi playground.
The HC in 2011 ordered the then Dhaka City Corporation, police and public works ministry to open the playground to public and remove all illegal structures from there.
However, the order was not carried out. When the court was moved in this regard, several HC benches recently either declined or felt embarrassed to hear on the petition. However, a fourth bench last month decided to hear their petition.
In the meantime, the private club started building two lawn tennis courts, two badminton courts and a basketball court at the playground with Tk 1.63 crore public money provided by the Local Government Engineering Department.
At long last, the DSCC hung up a notice at the entrance of the playground, officially declaring it open to public on April 24. They, however, left the illegal structures in place.
In their latest move, the club authorities again locked the main gate and kept a small side gate open, restricting public access.
Interestingly, the notice the DSCC hung on the gate also disappeared at the same time.