In Rabindranath Tagore's poem -- Dui bigha jomi (two bighas of land) -- the landlord asks a poor peasant, Upen, to surrender his plot, which is required to pursue the projects of the land- lord. Tearful Upen pleads with the landlord, saying that the landlord had no dearth of land, but the meager land under his possession is where he (Upen) wanted to die. Failing to convince the landlord, Upen comments that those have plenty of assets want more, and the king steals all the wealth of the poor.

I am reminded of the poem by the surreptitious attempt of one of our ministries. The Ministry of Housing and Works is reported to have allotted 25 acres of land from Suhrawardy Udyan to Dhaka Club for developing a golf course.

I personally consider the citizens of Dhaka as millions of Upens, who lost all of their lands and lakes for the cozy constructions of the rich at the cost of a clean and environment friendly city. They have almost no place to go to breathe fresh air.

I am not aware of any golf course lying in the heart of a city anywhere in the world. Nor do I understand the game of golf. Accidental pressing of a button on the remote control sometimes takes me to the golf courses of the world; sometimes it is in Bangladesh, but is confined to cantonment areas only.

In both cases, however, the golf players appear to me as "lords," wearing hats and walking with sticks. Servants following them carry the baggage. Although, in the case of cricket, the lords have given ways to the commoners (as poor school or madrasha students in rural areas of Bangladesh play it), golf is still the game of the rich, at least in Bangladesh.

Let us turn to the moot concern. Suhrawardy Udayan is a symbol of our independence. The famous declaration of independence (Bangabandhu's speech of March 7) came from this ground.

Besides, it is the largest park where people of this polluted city can visit to inhale oxygen.

The place boasts rare species of trees and plants. In other parts of the world, such parks are generally full of people who come to enjoy the lush green of the trees and the breeze that blows. Joggers also use them.

Unfortunately, a portion of Suhrawardy Udayan has already been used for constructing a shishu park. In fact, there were many places in Dhaka where the park could have been built, thus retaining the Udayan's original natural status.

If the land goes to the so-called "lords" of the land of Bangladesh, it will definitely deprive the millions down the ladder from the benefits that a park generally provides. Dhaka city direly needs such a place to enable its citizens to breath fresh air, and for recreation.

It is, however, not to argue that golf should not be played in Bangladesh. Closing my eyes, I also see some "Tiger Woods" in this land of the Royal Bengal Tigers. But why at the public's peril? The lords of the Dhaka Club, I presume, are very rich. I suggest that they buy a big tract of land in Cox's Bazar and develop a golf course and a resort.

They can go their (if necessary with families) every weekend and, after playing golf, come back and mind their businesses. In fact, such a golf course could also contribute to foreign exchange earnings as again, closing my eyes, I see Tiger Woods visiting Bangladesh for, say, playing a "Lords Golf Tournament Cup!"

So, I would request the planners in the ministry not to proceed with this project, as it needs a public debate. Instead, the ministry should increase the civic facilities in and around the Udyan.

The ministry should also ensure that the law and security situation allows citizens to pass peaceful moments there during the day or the night. Anything short of that might ignite popular upsurge. Let the "lords" live and play in their locality, not in public places by destroying the environment and civic amenities.

There is another suggestion for the ministry, especially for Rajuk. Instead of pursuing such a project, the ministry would do well in quickly developing the residential plots that it has committed to hand over to the applicants.

My friends complained to me that they have not been given allotment, although almost six years have elapsed since they deposited the required money. So, oil your own machine rather than oiling the "lords!"

Abdul Bayes is a Professor of Economics at Jahangirnagar University.