A team of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) yesterday demolished around 50 makeshift shops erected at Banani playground following a report carried in this daily on August 22.
Dhaka City Corporation (DCC), however, has not yet freed the Chairman Bari Khelarmath (playground), in the residential area of Banani, occupied by Zaker Party to hold its programmes, alleged the locals.
Sources said a group of youths of Titumir College, in the name of Bangladesh Chhatra League, erected the shops to hold an Eid fair under the banner of Jamdani and Handicrafts Development Society, said Nurul Islam, executive engineer of Rajuk.
“They went on with the move though we repeatedly asked not to occupy the playground. They also attempted to manage recommendation from the local lawmaker but failed,” he said.
Besides, Zaker Party is still occupying the Chairman Bari Khelarmath with a huge marquee of bamboo structure to continue party programmes with the DCC authorities keeping silent.
Tapan Kumar Saha, estate officer of DCC, on August 22 said DCC gave Zaker Party permission to hold Tarabi prayers at the playground on August 25 and 26.
Asked yesterday what DCC has done against illegal occupancy of the playground, Tapan Kumar said, “I do not know anything about it, I have to check.”
“It is unacceptable that the playground has been occupied for so many days depriving the local children of sport facility,” said Mahmuda Hamid, a resident at Banani.
Zaker Party started erecting the makeshift structure in mid-August occupying the entire playground.
Sadeque Hossain Khoka, mayor of DCC, said last week that he forgot that other uses than sports of playgrounds should not be allowed, while giving permission to Zaker Party.
Though the playgrounds are not supposed to be used for other purposes than sports, most of the capital’s playfields and open spaces are now occupied illegally with the official custodian DCC allowing the malpractice for decades.
Prof Serajul Islam Choudhury, an eminent social analyst and head of an advisory committee on DCC’s park development and beautification, said absence of wholesome sporting and recreational facilities is greatly responsible for artificiality, frustration, drug addiction, eve teasing and suicide of youths.
