DCC built community centre at Narinda Park, more structures came up over the years
Fatima, a student of class ten at Bangla Bazar Government Girls High School, spent her entire childhood confined within her house in Narinda for lack of open space for outdoor activities.
“Watching TV and playing games on computer are the ways I entertain myself,” said Fatima.
Twenty-five years old Rohijan, Fatima’s sister, who used to play at Narinda Park when she was a child, said in those days there were slides, swings and see-saws in the park.
“My daughter Muskan, a student of playgroup at Maitri Kindergarten, is tired of being cooped up like a chicken in a farm as there is no open space,” said Nazrul Islam, a resident of Narinda.
“Even her school doesn’t have space open enough for children to run around,” he added.
Places like Narinda Park and Bagan Bari Math which were favourite haunts of young children don’t exist today, he added.
The Narinda Park, one of the most affected parks in the city, now remains only in papers as Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) constructed a community centre on the park 15 years ago followed by a multi-storey mosque, ten years later.
The park with 0.33 acres of land in ward 77 had a few amenities to entertain children but those vanished after the construction of the two concrete structures leaving no scope for anyone to recognise that there was a park even around five years back, the locals said.
Asif Ahmed, a resident of Narinda, said the park had been there as far as he could remember and served as an amusement park for children. Asif had been living in Narinda since 1969.
Joint Secretary of Narinda Junior Lions Club Nasir Uddin said there is a club office on the ground floor and a training centre on the first floor of the community centre.
Md Iqbal Hossain, former president of the club, said they allow the club to be used free of cost for those who are unable to rent the centre for marriage.
He also added children of Sutrapur, Gendaria, Bongshal and Kotwali use a playground named Khoka Math for outdoor activities.
Superintendent Engineer of DCC circle-1 Abul Hasnat said as both the structures are essential to the community it will not be easy to take any steps to free the park.
