Kalabagan children's park has been illegally occupied by Kalabagan Krira Chakra, a local sports club, for nearly three decades in the name of maintenance.
The club does not have any permission from the authorities but it is using this public space in an exclusive manner denying free public access to the ground.
Although the club is making money out of the ground in various ways, Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) has ever been playing a murky role.
“This is a blatant denial of city's dwellers' right to enjoy open space, with the DCC allowing such illegal practice,” said a resident of Kalabagan.
The club has occupied the entire park, known as Kalabagan Math, uses its southern part as an exclusive playground and runs a big commercial nursery on the northern part.
Any sporting team or clubs have to pay Kalabagan Krira Chakra a certain amount of money to use the ground for any match, tournament or practice session.
Mubasshar Hussain, a resident of Dhanmondi and president of the Institute of Architects Bangladesh (IAB), said, “The club has forcibly been occupying the playground. Neither DCC nor Public Works Department (PWD) has authorised the club to take it over.”
The club first built a shed, then a one-storey structure and finally a two-storey building on the ground without obtaining approval from Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk).
SM Shahjahan, a former adviser to caretaker government and vice-president of environmentalist group Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon (Bapa), said that public spaces must be used properly in public interest.
“Public parks and playgrounds are not meant to satisfy the greed of any coterie,” said SM Shahjahan, who is a former secretary and adviser to the Youth and Sports Ministry. “Public properties must not be abused to cater to the interest of a privileged group."
General Secretary of Kalabagan Krira Chakra Saleh Ahmed Tipu admitted that they have no formal authorisation from the authorities to take control of the playground.
“I could not find any documents of permission to use the ground in this manner. We don't have permission from Rajuk to build the club office at the playground,” he said.
“We did not make any attempt to obtain permission,” he admitted, saying that Kalabagan Krira Chakra has been operating at the field since its inception in 1978.
About exacting money from the users, Tipu said, “We don't always demand money for using the playground except for practice net or sports equipment.”
Replying to a question about running a commercial nursery at the ground, he said that the aim of setting up the nursery is to protect the space from any “illegal occupancy”.
Architect Iqbal Habib of Vitti Associates, which worked as consultant of the Dhamondi Lake Development Project during 1998-99, said Kalabagan playground was an integral component of the comprehensive plan of the lake development project.
“We recommended a lakeside walkway on the western fringe of the children's park, developing the northern part of ground as a children-friendly area and a connecting bridge between the ground and an island in the lake,” said Habib.
One significant recommendation in the layout plan was that residents of Kalabagan area would have free access to the lake area through the walkway around playground, he said.
Construction of benches along the walkway was also recommended.
But some influential patrons of the club forced the consultant to exclude the playground from development layout approved by Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives (LGRD) ministry, said Habib.
None of the recommendations, except for the walkway, could come true. The damaged boundary wall on the western fringe was restored to ensure an independent entity of the playground and establish club's possession over it.
The lake development project had no provision for boundary wall at all, said Habib, who is also a member of the lake management committee.
The consultant recommended that the northern portion of the playground be developed as a children-friendly area, which has ever since been used as a nursery.
Regarding the high boundary wall on the ground's western side, Tipu said the DCC itself built that wall in 2006 at a cost of Tk 55 lakh.
Chief Estate Officer of DCC Abu Mohammad Yusuf said that DCC has not authorised any clubs or organisations to use any public playgrounds exclusively and make money out of them in the name of maintenance.
“Eviction drives against illegal occupancy of public properties have been stalled for want of executive magistrates at DCC,” he said.
“Once we get executive magistrates, we will go for eviction of any unauthorised clubs or organisations occupying public playgrounds,” he added.
DCC Mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka said though unauthorised, some of the clubs have long been in occupancy of playgrounds. “We consider them leniently in view of their activities in the sports arena,” he said.