Dhaka’s playground crunch, DSCC rolls out new plan

Anika Tasnuba, a Class-III student of a kindergarten school in Shantinagar, has no playground in her school to play during her leisure time.

Her mother, Monira Hossain, told The New Nation that Anika often spends her free time chatting with friends or talking with her cousin because there are not enough playgrounds nearby.

A similar situation is faced by Nabiha Hossain, a Class-V student of Motijheel Primary School.

Speaking to The New Nation, her mother, Jasmine Binte Mejajuddin, said Nabiha has only a small space at school and often spends her holidays using a mobile phone. She also said that nearby parks are usually overcrowded and travelling to recreational or historical places is difficult because of traffic congestion.

Their experiences highlight a larger problem facing children across Dhaka: the city’s rapid urbanisation has left many neighbourhoods with little or no safe and accessible space for children to play, exercise and take part in sports.

Dhaka has been witnessing an acute shortage of playgrounds, depriving a large number of children of opportunities for outdoor recreation and sports.

The problem is especially severe in Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), where 75 wards have an inadequate number of suitable playgrounds.

According to studies by the Bangladesh Institute of Planners, Dhaka has about 235 playgrounds, but only 42 are generally accessible to the public. A more recent study by the Institute for Planning and Development says the city’s two city corporations need around 610 playgrounds to meet a basic planning standard.

There are 39 parks in 75 wards under Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC). The total of parks are excluding from the stadiums, which are situated at Dhaka City and under supervision of DSCC).

Dhaka’s playground crisis is not simply a shortage of fields but also a problem of accessibility.

In 2023, the High Court ordered authorities to prepare a list of parks and playgrounds in the capital and directed that existing parks and playgrounds be kept open to the public, while questioning commercialisation and unauthorised construction.

Speaking to The New Nation, Abdus Salam, the DSCC Administrator said the corporation was working to address the shortage of playgrounds in the city.

“Our Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is very much sports lover and will give us all sorts of co-operation to solve the problem.”

He said, “We shall provide one playground in one ward of Dhaka South City. If we fail to do that, we shall manage one playground for two wards.”

He added that the high officials of DSCC, the National Sports Council and the Ministry of Youth and Sports would soon hold a meeting to take necessary steps to resolve the problem.”

There are 75 wards under Dhaka South City Corporation, but the area has a significant shortage of playgrounds.

The Administrator said the corporation had already submitted a list of playgrounds to the Ministry of Youth and Sports. The ministry would take initiatives to address the problems of grounds that are unsuitable for children, he said.

DSCC administrator also said, “Several major grounds and recreational spaces in Dhaka, including the National Stadium, Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Fortis FC Ground, Bashundhara Sports Complex, Dhupkhola Ground, Ramna Park, Osmani Udyan, Bahadur Shah Park, Basabo Ground, Jorpukur Ground, Golapbag Ground, Paltan Maidan, Abahani Ground, Suhrawardy Udyan, Dhanmondi Club Ground, Brothers Union Ground, City Club Ground and Mohammadpur Physical College Ground. However, despite these facilities, many children do not have easy access to suitable playgrounds in their neighbourhoods.”

Salam said that the shortage is also affecting schools, colleges and sports clubs. Many educational institutions do not have sufficiently large playgrounds and are therefore unable to organise annual sports competitions properly.

“Similarly, most clubs participating in the Bangladesh Football League do not have appropriate grounds to host their home matches, resulting in many matches being held outside Dhaka.”

For many families, overcrowded parks, traffic congestion and the cost of recreational activities make alternative forms of recreation difficult, he said.