Reza Mahmud :
The plan to build a modern amusement park for children on the Dhupkhola play ground in the old Dhaka has made the local people unhappy. The locals say that the Dhupkhola play ground is the only open space for them. So, it should not made a commercial hub or an amusement park at all, said the residents with request to the mayor to build such park in any other alternative place.
“Dhupkhola play ground is our blood. But our mayor unfortunately announced his plan to build a amusement park for children. It is not a good news at all. The old Dhaka
residents never want to see the play ground as a busy commercial park,” said Saidur Rahman Mintu, one of the founders of Diganta Majlis, a social welfare organisation of Gandaria.
On March 28, Mayor Sayed Khokon said that Dhupkhola play ground would be a children amusement park soon. The construction will start within six months.
The announcement created stir among the people of the old Dhaka and made the residents of Gendariya, Narinda, Mirhazirbagh, Laksmibazar, Mill Barrack, Faridabad, Dhalkanagar and the adjacent areas anxious.
A part of the playground in the north is being used as the Jagannath University play ground, the eastern part is East End Club play ground and the Southern part is for the local people’s taking breath in the morning.
Another part of this space in the South-east corner was once a children park. But like the other children parks of the city, that part was also invaded by illegal grabbers. It is no more the children park. The children, even the old people have forgotten that there was a children park. The locals said, the mayor should rescue the children park for a modern amusement park.
The local people said, the Dhupkhola play ground had green grass even days ago. After the starting of the construction work of the Mayor Hanif Flyover, the constructing company used the play ground for a long period and left the space in bad shape. As a result, the play ground lost its green landscape. Now it is full of sands. Yet the local youths use it to play cricket, football and other games in the morning and at after noon everyday.
“If the play ground is taken by the South City Corporation for making an amusement park, it will make us dejected. It is because a large space which we have been seeing since our early childhood, will disappear. We do not want to lose it. The mayor should rethink about the plan and build the park at another place, but not at Dhupkhola,” said Abul Hossain, the owner of the Medicine Point on the Satish Sarker Road at Gendaria.
Many of the local residents said, there are some alternative places to build such amusement park. They suggested relocating the Dhaka District Police Lines from Mill Barrack for using the vast space to build a children park.
“The police lines is not a part of Dhaka Metropolitan Police. It is a part of Dhaka District. It should be relocated from the capital city. On the other hand, the godowns (food warehouses) in the mill barrack area have been remaining useless for years. It is a vast space, but a very limited area thereof is used nowadays. The government should relocate it also to give to the city corporation to build an amusement park for children,” one of the senior resident of Mill Barrack area said preferring anonymity.
One of the officials of East End Club said on the condition of anonymity if the play ground becomes a amusement park, then it will be a business hub and not the children’s real amusement..
Some teachers of Jagannath University also reacted in the same way. They said, if an amusement park is built near our play ground, it will not be helpful for our students to play there.
The plan to build a modern amusement park for children on the Dhupkhola play ground in the old Dhaka has made the local people unhappy. The locals say that the Dhupkhola play ground is the only open space for them. So, it should not made a commercial hub or an amusement park at all, said the residents with request to the mayor to build such park in any other alternative place.
“Dhupkhola play ground is our blood. But our mayor unfortunately announced his plan to build a amusement park for children. It is not a good news at all. The old Dhaka
residents never want to see the play ground as a busy commercial park,” said Saidur Rahman Mintu, one of the founders of Diganta Majlis, a social welfare organisation of Gandaria.
On March 28, Mayor Sayed Khokon said that Dhupkhola play ground would be a children amusement park soon. The construction will start within six months.
The announcement created stir among the people of the old Dhaka and made the residents of Gendariya, Narinda, Mirhazirbagh, Laksmibazar, Mill Barrack, Faridabad, Dhalkanagar and the adjacent areas anxious.
A part of the playground in the north is being used as the Jagannath University play ground, the eastern part is East End Club play ground and the Southern part is for the local people’s taking breath in the morning.
Another part of this space in the South-east corner was once a children park. But like the other children parks of the city, that part was also invaded by illegal grabbers. It is no more the children park. The children, even the old people have forgotten that there was a children park. The locals said, the mayor should rescue the children park for a modern amusement park.
The local people said, the Dhupkhola play ground had green grass even days ago. After the starting of the construction work of the Mayor Hanif Flyover, the constructing company used the play ground for a long period and left the space in bad shape. As a result, the play ground lost its green landscape. Now it is full of sands. Yet the local youths use it to play cricket, football and other games in the morning and at after noon everyday.
“If the play ground is taken by the South City Corporation for making an amusement park, it will make us dejected. It is because a large space which we have been seeing since our early childhood, will disappear. We do not want to lose it. The mayor should rethink about the plan and build the park at another place, but not at Dhupkhola,” said Abul Hossain, the owner of the Medicine Point on the Satish Sarker Road at Gendaria.
Many of the local residents said, there are some alternative places to build such amusement park. They suggested relocating the Dhaka District Police Lines from Mill Barrack for using the vast space to build a children park.
“The police lines is not a part of Dhaka Metropolitan Police. It is a part of Dhaka District. It should be relocated from the capital city. On the other hand, the godowns (food warehouses) in the mill barrack area have been remaining useless for years. It is a vast space, but a very limited area thereof is used nowadays. The government should relocate it also to give to the city corporation to build an amusement park for children,” one of the senior resident of Mill Barrack area said preferring anonymity.
One of the officials of East End Club said on the condition of anonymity if the play ground becomes a amusement park, then it will be a business hub and not the children’s real amusement..
Some teachers of Jagannath University also reacted in the same way. They said, if an amusement park is built near our play ground, it will not be helpful for our students to play there.
