Experts on urban planning and rights activists have called upon the authorities concerned to take steps for ensuring safe playground environment in the country, especially in Dhaka.
They have demanded formulation of a policy in this regard. They made the demand at a views-exchange meeting on “Planning and Management of Playgrounds in Urban Areas of the Country: Challenges and Way-out” at the National Press Club in the capital on Tuesday.
Institute for Planning and Development (IPD) and Work for a Better Bangladesh Trust (WBB Trust) jointly arranged the event.
Speakers at the event said that according to the World Health Organization (WHO), every person needs a minimum of nine square meters of open space. However, there are only 16 per cent people of Dhaka city live within the sports facilities. There is an acute shortage of playgrounds in other divisional cities and district towns of the country, they added.
They, however, lauded the role of the authorities concerned in this regard, saying that in recent times, the initiatives taken for the development of field-parks in the city area are highly commendable. Even after the initiatives, the local people are deprived of sports facilities due to the lack of accessibility in the developed fields and parks.
A policy formulation is needed to overcome the situation so that the planning and management in this regard are fruitful, said the experts on urban planning and rights activists.
Gaous Pearee, director of WBB Trust; presided over the views-exchange meeting, while Ziaur Rahman, senior project manager of the organisation; moderated the event. Dr. Adil Muhammad Khan, director of IPD; presented the keynote speech, while Dr Akhtar Mahmud, a professor at the Department of Urban and Regional Planning of Jahangirnagar University; Dr. Shaer Gafur, a professor at the Department of Architecture of BUET; Dr Mohammad Ariful Islam, executive director of IPD; Syeda Ratna, coordinator of Tentultala Math Rokkhya Andolan; and Talukdar Rifat Pasha, policy officer of Institute of Wellbeing Bangladesh; took part in the discussion, among others.
In her presidential speech, Gaous Pearee said, “Our urban planning does not take into account the needs of children, people with disabilities or women. This city is made for able men. We are commercializing playgrounds rather than giving importance to children’s physical and mental development. It is necessary to take a strict stance of the government to prevent the encroachment of the field.”
In his speech, Dr. Adil Muhammad Khan said that currently the opportunities to play in the fields are getting narrow. Not only Dhaka, there is shortage of fields in various divisional cities and district town outside Dhaka. As a result, the prevalence of juvenile gangs and drugs is increasing, he observed.
He said that although various fields have been developed under the City Corporation, access to the marginalized communities has been lost due to various conditions. In this situation, it is necessary to create playgrounds in a planned way. So, a policy must be formulated, he opined.
Professor Akhtar Mahmud said that although there are 235 playgrounds in Dhaka, 141 of them are institutional grounds. Children and teenagers don’t have free access to the existing fields. The situation is the same in other parts of the country, he added. Professor Shaer Gafur said, political will is very important to protect the playground. Crores of money are allocated for the implementation of mega projects in the city. So, it is impossible to allocate fund for playgrounds and parks, he observed.
Dr. Mohammad Ariful Islam said that drug use and crime trends are increasing due to lack of playgrounds, fields and parks. However, place for people to take shelter during times of emergency, such as fire or earthquake, in absence of field and playgrounds. Considering the current situation, no school should be allowed without a field, he opined.