Greens call out to save Bashabo playground

Protesting an initiative to construct an educational institution on the capital's Bashabo Balurmath, nine green organisations yesterday demanded that the government save the field from encroachment.

There are many schools and colleges in the area and another is unnecessary and hence the initiative is a pretext to destroy the field, they told a press conference in Dhaka Reporters Unity, demanding all the country's parks and playgrounds be protected.

Urging people concerned to cancel the initiative, Syed Abul Maksud, Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa) vice president, said failure to protect the field would result in the grabbing of others like Suhrawardy Udyan and Ramna Park in the pretext of social development.

Bapa Vice President Mubassher Hossain questioned the initiative, saying the area's existing ones could be turned into modern model schools and colleges through donations.

Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu, convener of Bapa's park, field and tradition protection programme, said they were proud of Bangladesh's successes in sports. But hopelessness caved in when fields which help generate players are found being destroyed, he said.

He said though it was the government's duty to provide the opportunity to develop players, fields were being destroyed with the help of public representatives.

Bapa Joint Secretary Iqbal Habib said Basabo Balurmath was earmarked as an open space in Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha's Detailed Area Plan (DAP). Therefore the initiative will violate the DAP act 1953 and open space and water body protection act 2000, he said.

He demanded bringing to book those involved in the initiative.

Hanif Shahid, a member of a committee to protect the field, said the filed covers three areas -- Basabo, Kadamtola and Sabujbagh.

Public Works Department published a gazette in 1997 where 39 bighas of land was earmarked as the field, including a children's park, and filled it with sand, he added.

There was an attempt in 2001 to construct plots and another in 2011 to construct a post office, he said.