Dhaka Club President Salim Bhuiyan speaks at a press conference on the club premises in the city yesterday. On his right is Khandker Mahbub Zaman and on his left is Nurul Islam Khan. Photo: STAR

The Dhaka Club would engage staff in maintaining the golf course on the Suhrawardy Udyan as the government has delegated them the responsibility to that end, club authorities yesterday said.

The club said they are pro-environment and would not destroy the environment of the park, adding that their objective is to make golfing popular among people at large.

"The club is not owner of the course. We are just maintaining it. Anybody who wants to play golf can come at the course and play there," said Selim Bhuiyan, president of the Dhaka Club, at a press conference at the club's Hamidur Rahman Sinha Lounge, which was arranged following newspaper reports on the allocation of 25 acres of the parkland for golfing.

The club would not make any profit from the golf course, he said.

The Dhaka Club said the golf course has been at the Suhrawardy Udyan since 1926 and that they have been going golfing there for decades.

This time the government formally nominated the club to maintain the course, they said.

Group Captain Mujahidul Islam, secretary of the club, read out the written statement which claimed that the golf course would increase the beauty of the park.

"Now the park has become a den of drug addicts and anti-social people. The golf course would rather stop those activities," said the statement, adding that the course would not put any obstacles to the pedestrians.

In reply to a question, the club president said 10 whole courts on the 25 acres of land would be specially protected so that nobody can ruin them.

Club members Khandakar Mahbuzzaman, Akkas Khan, Shafakat Choudhury and RK Chowdhury, among others, were present at the press conference.