Thank you, PM, for freeing Tentultala

We wholeheartedly thank the prime minister for ordering the authorities concerned to keep the Tentultala field in Dhaka's Kalabagan neighbourhood as a playground. This is not just a happy end for the local protesters—who have been demonstrating for months against the construction of a police establishment on the field—but it has also set an example for how the few open spaces in the city must be protected from being lost to rapid urbanisation.

However, there is one area of concern which remains. As this daily reported on April 29, the home minister has said that "the playground would be open to everyone, but would be under the jurisdiction of police." If the Tentultala field is to be a playground, meant for public use, why would it be under police jurisdiction? Would it not be more appropriate for the playground to be under the jurisdiction of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC)? We hope this issue of ownership ambiguity will be cleared up soon. If it is the police which has control over the playground, there is no guarantee that there will not be a reversion of the prime minister's directive, and that the police will not again resume constructing its establishment on the field. Furthermore, given the high-handedness with which the police reacted to locals peacefully protesting at the site, we remain apprehensive about how accessible the playground would really be to the community if it remains in their jurisdiction.

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During the coverage of Tentultala in the recent past, we were also shocked to see the state of the land. Given that it was not officially a playground, it seems to have been used even as a dumping ground for the surrounding area. Now that it has been recognised by the prime minister herself as a playground, we hope those in charge will do their part to beautify the field, so it may serve its now official purpose of being a place of play and respite for local children.

The premier has freed the Tentultala playground for public good, and against the wishes of police and, to some extent, the home minister. For that, we are grateful to her. We now hope the field will be turned into a proper public park and a much-needed breathing space for the Kalabagan locals. For this, the DSCC must lend its hand, as it is the only body capable of maintaining the Tentultala playground as it should be.