Dhanmondi Club field ‘opens’

The Dhaka City Corporation (South) has opened Dhanmondi-8 playground to all.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 24 April 2014, 09:56 AM
Updated : 24 April 2014, 03:04 PM

It hung several notices at the ground on Thursday saying that no one will be restricted from entering it.

The field was the cause of an intense row between Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club officials and environmentalists who have been demonstrating against restrictions on its use.

The club officials do not want ‘commoners’ to have access to the playground.

“There has been some trouble regarding the field,” DCC’s public relations officer Uttam Kumar Roy told bdnews24.com.

“The ground belongs to the city corporation so we have opened it for all to avoid further complications.”

Officials of Sheikh Jamal club continued to ask why commoners should be allowed to enter the playground.

The presidents of Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), Kazi Salahuddin and Nazmul Hasan, have both sided with the club.

But former national cricket captain Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu and former national badminton and table tennis ace Quamrun Nahar Dana were among the sports personalities who wanted the field to be open to all.

Environmentalists moved the High Court after Sheikh Jamal club began building basketball, badminton and tennis courts there.

The High Court, in March 2011, ordered the field to be opened and all illegal structures removed within 15 days.

The court also issued a notice when the protesters went back to it saying the club was not abiding by its order.

The club had installed security guards at the playground’s entrance to keep people away.

In a case filed on Apr 18, the club accused four including architect Mubasshar Hussain and Dana for ‘trespassing’ into the ground to hold demonstrations.

A Dhaka court later granted them bail.

Prof Jamilur Reza Chowdhury, former head of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA), in a press brief said, the campaign aimed at letting all people enter the ground.

“No one has the right to restrict them entry,” he said.

On the other hand, Monjur Quader, Sheikh Jamal’s president, provided his own theory.

“Dhanmondi residential area was set up by Ayub Khan for the elites. Therefore, only they, not street urchins, reserve the right to play here.”