Staff Reporter :
The Tentultala playground is again abuzzing with the children who are running to and fro and playing games like football.
The restriction on their entry into the field by the police is no more and now the children are unfettered as they can play and run into the field.
Now they are happy to get back the field which has become their kingdom playing games and sports.
Visiting the Tentultala playground in the city’s Kalabagan area on Friday, it was seen that a group of children aged 10-12 were playing football and the locals were watching the game.
The children said, they are very happy now, as
they can now, play football after the school hour.
Local people said, there is scarcity of open space in this city where children can play and the aged people can enjoy with others to talk in leisure time.
The acquisition of the land by the police put a restriction on all people’s movement inside the field and the children were unable to play, they said.
The locals said, if people and children get a breathing space here in the playing ground, it is beneficial for health and mind.
The locals, however, said, the field should not be under the jurisdiction of police, rather it can be under the control of the city corporation.
Some of the locals said the walls should be demolished to keep the field open. They field was used for Eid-ul-Fitr prayers and social gatherings.
Earlier on Thursday, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said that the field will be kept as it was used earlier and no police station will be constructed.
However, he said that the police will be the owner of the field as they have acquired it at a cost of Tk 28 crore and police will look after it.
The locals and environmentalist were on continuous movement to save the field for a long time. When a local Syeda Ratna protested the construction work of the police, she along with her son was detained for 12 hours.
Following the widespread outcry from different rights activists, environmentalists, and civil society members, both mother and son were released after singing an undertaking.
Finally, the construction work was stopped following the directives of the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
