Asking for public open space is no crime

While it's not uncommon for open spaces to be encroached by influential people, the recent incident involving a playground in Dhaka's Kalabagan area was indeed shocking. On Sunday, Syeda Ratna, a local resident fighting for the preservation of the playground known as Tetultala, and her 17-year-old son were detained by police when they went live on Facebook capturing Kalabagan police building a wall on the playground. Police claimed the mother and son duo were arrested for "obstructing government work." Although they were released about 12 hours later, Ratna had to sign a bond agreeing to "never do so again."

Protests to save the playground, which has served local residents for 50 years, have been going on since January 31, when the Dhaka deputy commissioner's office handed over the land to Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) to set up an establishment for Kalabagan police station. After the latest development, experts have rightfully questioned the legality of a minor boy being put in lock-up meant for adult men, especially when he had not even committed a juvenile offence. The outlandishness of the arrest aside, it's also concerning that the authorities are so determined to deprive local children of the one playground they have in their area.

Reports say that it is officially "abandoned" land, and not listed with the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) as a playground. But while it makes sense for the DMP to decide to build a police station on abandoned land, why must it be one which is of so much use to locals, and has been for decades? The months of protest alone show how significant this land is for the community, especially given how public open spaces for children to play in are becoming rarer by the year. For instance, it has been over a decade since a five-acre plot along Mirpur Road was declared by the prime minister as a site for children with special needs to play, but we're yet to hear of any progress on that front. Only a sign exists there, while the land is riddled with overgrown vegetation.

While the case of the Tetultala playground has been sparingly reported in the media over the last few months, the one positive outcome of the undue arrest of Ratna and her teenage son is that the issue has finally received the attention it deserves. We hope that the DSCC will heed the home minister's instruction to find another location for Kalabagan police station, and that none of the demonstrators will be made to suffer for wanting to conserve a rare open space in this concrete jungle of ours.