Dhaka University Teachers' Association (Duta) yesterday urged the government to cancel its decision of giving a portion of Suhrawardy Udyan to Dhaka Club for making a golf course.

In a press release, Duta called upon the government to keep the entire park open for all.

The government decided recently to give 25 acres of land of Suhrawardy Udyan to Dhaka Club for a golf course.

Suhrawardy Udyan is one of the popular parks in the capital where a large number of city dwellers come to take walk every day, said the press release signed by Duta acting President Tazmeri SA Islam and its acting General Secretary Dr Mamun Ahmed.

“The decision of giving a portion of the park to a section of people for special use is unwanted and unacceptable. The decision has hurt the feeling of the university teachers and students as well as the city dwellers,” they said.

When DU was established 1921, the university owned 600 acres of land of the Ramna Racecourse Maidan, which is now Suhrawardy Udyan. Of those, 82.72 acres of land was acquired by the government.

Justice Fazle Akber Committee, formed in 1955, made recommendations to give back the acquired land to DU and provide the university with another 63 acres of land for its future extension, which are yet to be implemented.

In case of allocating the parkland to any organisation, Dhaka University should be given the utmost priority considering the location and proper use of the park, they added.