Will Kalabagan children lose Tentultala playground?

The Tentultala field in the capital's Kalabagan area was never a playground and the land was allotted to the police, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said yesterday, indicating that the place will not be used as a playground.

"It was always an abandoned land of the Public Works Department (PWD) before the DC office allocated it to the police. If the city corporation can give us an alternative land, we will consider it," he said yesterday.

Earlier on the day, eminent citizens, including urbanist Iqbal Habib and environmentalist Syeda Rizwana Hasan met the home minister at the secretariat to weigh in on the locals' demand to protect the field.
"The home minister said he would try his best to protect the ground. He said he would talk to the appropriate authorities and the prime minister about our proposal to protect the field," Iqbal Habib told the press later.
"The home minister has assured us that he will talk to the police commissioner to stop the construction work and make arrangements so that the children can enter the field till a final decision is reached," he added.

Syeda Rizwana said, "The home minister said he will sincerely look into resolving the playground issue while pointing out that police have already paid Tk27 crore for the field after allotment."

Human rights activists, environmentalists, cultural activists and locals have warned of a tougher movement if the Tentultala ground is not returned to the locals and children.

They staged a protest rally against the decision of setting up a police station at Tentultala field. After that 14 native trees were planted along the border of the field.

Protestors said they will continue the movement until the land is returned as a playground.

The 0.20-acre Tentultala ground, which is in an alley opposite the Square Hospital, is basically a vacant lot in the midst of residential buildings home to some 30,000 people. For years, local children and teenagers play in the small field, which has also been used for community gatherings such as Eid prayers, social events and funerals.

On 24 August the Dhaka district administration termed the land "fallow" and said the ground was proposed to be acquired by the government for the construction of Kalabagan police station, sparking outrage among locals who started the "Save Tentultala Playground" movement.