Disappearance threatens city parks

Influential quarters have grabbed, fully or partially, all the parks of the Dhaka South City Corporation in the absence of any effective step to reclaim them.
At least two of the 27 parks under the DSCC have disappeared fully as the grabbers have built multi-storey buildings there. 
Illegal construction work is going on inside at least ten other parks, with the authorities turning a blind eye to the encroachment on the open spots meant to give people a breathing space in frenzied rush of city life.
The portions of the parks that are yet to be grabbed are hardly useable for lack of maintenance, while there has been regular budgetary
allocation and assigned manpower for the task.
Local people have blamed the city corporation officials for allowing this encroachment on the parks in exchange for kickbacks from the grabbers.
They have demanded that the authorities immediately reclaim the parks and make them useable.
The city corporation officials, however, denied the allegation and blamed acute manpower crisis for the wretched condition of the parks.
According to World Health Organisation, there should be at least nine square metres of green space for every individual in the urban settings — an estimation that varies by several orders of magnitude. 
Though there is no study as to how much such open space is there in Dhaka, green activists have feared that it may be at the bottom of all capital cities of the world. 
DSCC mayor Mohammad Sayeed Khokon has told New Age that under a mega project they are going to start renovation of 19 DSCC parks spending Tk 77 crore.
‘We have already employed some consultants. They are drawing a plan of the renovation work,’ the mayor added. 
Locals and caretakers of many parks have observed that renovation without reclamation of spaces by removing illegal structures would further reduce park spaces and encourage the grabbers. 
Multi-storey buildings have been raised fully occupying the Sayedabad and Narinda parks. 
City corporation officials said they permitted Orion Group to use the Sayedabad on a temporary basis for keeping construction materials to be used in Mayor Hanif Flyover.
Though they completed the construction work three years ago, Orion Group did not clear the space; they rather built their office there illegally.
‘We are ready to demolish the illegal structure,’ said Khalid Ahmed, chief estate officer of the DSCC.
Khalid said that although they attempted several times to pull down the structure, they could not do it because of the non-cooperation of police. 
A portion of Narinda Park has been occupied by a mosque while the rest of the park has been grabbed by Narinda Junior Lions Club. 
City corporation officials have said they do not know how the club has been set up there.
Shahid Motiur Park, well known as Gulistan park, Shiraj-ud-Dawla Park, Suhrawardy Udyan, Panthakunja and others have become dens of drug addicts and traders; people cannot use them.
The Muktangan park has also been grabbed by hawkers and microbus owners while a mosque was under construction on the park’s land.
Officials have said the city corporation gave permission to build mosque, pump house and toilet inside the Gulistan park, Osmani Uddyan, Shiraj-ud-Dawla park and some other parks.
The city corporation got the parks from different government agencies, mostly from Public Works Department, on condition that they would not use the space for purpose other than their original one. 
The city officials have violated the contract by permitting structures on the land, said PWD officials.
‘We hand over property only for public use and on condition that the structure will not be changed,’ said additional chief engineer of PWD Md Khurshed Alam. 
‘If the city authorities violate any of the agreed conditions, we will write to the ministry to cancel the allotment,’ he added.
Meanwhile, environmentalists and urban planners have blamed corruption of the city officials and corrupt politics for the grabbing of the open spaces. 
They say parks, playground and theatre halls are among most essentials civic right which the city authorities should ensure.
General secretary of Bangladesh Paribesh Andolan MA Matin says the green activists raised protests against open space grabbing in past but the city authorities did take any action though the property belong to them.
Disappearance of parks is suicidal, he says. 
BAPA joint secretary Iqbal Habib has called for turning vacated areas such as old airport and central jail into green spaces.
Green spaces are important not only for sports or walking, but also as source of oxygen, he adds.
President of Bangladesh Institute of Planners Professor AKM Abul Kalam has observed that open space in Dhaka city is too small for the area it covers. 

News courtesy: www.newagebd.net