<i>No major renovation or addition for decades</i>

Photo: STAR

It was 2:00pm in a sizzling summer day. An anxious five-year-old girl crept inside the tiny cockpit and waited for the aircraft to take off. Moments later as the cutesy plane finally left the ground and started to collect pace, the kid's face began to show signs of panic.
Just when it seemed the large frightful eyes were about to burst into tears, a grin took over her face as her family cheered standing at a distance.
"It feels really nice to see children have fun. This feeling is priceless," says Abdul Halim, a visitor standing a few yards away from the helicopter ride at city's Shaheed Zia Shishu Park.
"I remember as a kid I used to come here often. Now when I see around, it is ironic how the place has changed a little over the years. It is almost the same place I saw in my childhood," he said.
No new children's rides have been installed in the park for the last 9 years while warranty period of nine out of 12 rides expired almost 16 years ago, posing a risk of serious accidents.
"This park is a major recreational place for children from all walks of life in the city. The authorities should do something to modernise and renovate this park to give the children more things to have fun with," Halim said.
An official said only three new rides -- the Jet Star, the Astro Fighter and the F-60 Fighter -- were installed in 1992 and 1997 after the park's inauguration in 1979. Besides these late additions, the park has remained the same for around 30 years.
"It is quite evident that even the children have become bored with the obsolete and dull rides, most of which are over two decades old," the official added.
Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation set up the park in 1979 and Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) took the job of its maintenance in 1983. But DCC sources alleged that besides routine maintenance checks, no major renovation work has been carried out in the last three decades.
Installed by Japanese technicians in 1979, Merry-Go-Round, New Tarbant, Wonder Wheel, Benkino Train, Roller Skating, Trampoline, Battery Car, Chair Tower and Flower Cup have remained as the central attractions of the park over the years.
According to sources at the Engineering Department of the DCC, several projects have been designed to renovate and revitalise the Shaheed Zia Shishu Park in the past two decades but all these projects have been tied up in bureaucratic tangles.
The projects include comprehensive renovation work of the park, addition of new rides and features, expansion of the park, and constructing two underpasses connecting the park with National Museum and Dhaka Club. The DCC sources said it is unlikely that any of these schemes would see the light of day anytime soon.
The DCC proposed a Tk 92-crore project in 2004 in a bid to give a facelift to the park as well as to increase revenues by attracting more visitors, sources said.
The ambitious proposal outlined a comprehensive renovation of the park that would include refurbishment of worn out rides and adding 16 new rides such as Barn Stormer, Roller Coaster, Mono Rail, Water Splash, Giant Wheel, Viking Mars, Bumper Cars, laser shows and 3-D movies.
The proposal also included a plan to expand the park up to the Police Control Room at Shahbagh, increasing the park's land area from 15 acres to 19 acres.
This project scheduled to the completed within 2006 is still awaiting the approval of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD).
Meanwhile, warranty period of nine rides expired almost 16 years ago and a comprehensive renovation scheme can only ensure public safety, sources said.
With the existing rides exceeding their life span of 10 years, serious accidents might occur if precautionary measures are not taken, DCC officials fear.
"It is quite impossible for any apparatus to offer optimum service for over 10 years as equipment and components wear and tear over time," said a DCC official concerned, adding that some rides are still functioning well -- thanks to sincere maintenance work by the DCC.
Continuing negligence of the authorities over the years is making citizens believe that the authorities are not thinking about ensuring an affordable and safe recreational facility for children of Dhaka -- an overcrowded city that definitely needs more parks of this sort.
"This park is not only a park for the children -- this is a recreational place for a lot of adults as well. Most of these adults, like me, have joyous memories of this park," said Majharul Islam who came to visit the Shishu Park with his family.
"It saddens me to see such an amazing and pleasant place like this getting neglected by the city fathers," he said. "Considering its place in the lives of so many people of the city, the authorities should take immediate measures to renovate and modernise the park."
According to sources, on average around 5,500 people visit the park every day and the DCC earns around Tk 2 crore revenue from the park a year.