Jatrabari Park
DCC itself occupier
Jatrabari ParkPhoto: STAR
Jatrabari Park, once situated on around four bighas of land, shrunk to less than one bigha as, over the years, different organisations including Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) occupied it for different purposes. DCC, the authority to maintain the park, constructed a road linked with Demra and a public toilet on nearly two bighas of the grounds around five years back. It also constructed a one storied concrete structure on the park around two years back, now being used for the last six months as the local commissioner's office. Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority also set up a pump on the eastern side around 15 years back, said locals. Many bus counters and makeshift shops selling vegetables and fruits were set up occupying parts of the park at different times, they said. The park is now being used by the construction firms of Gulistan-Jatrabari Flyover project under a contract with DCC. Mintu Das, a resident of Uttar Jatrabari, said the park was a pond since independence and was turned into a park in the 1980s. Residents, not only children but also elder people and women, of Dhalpur, Mir Hajirbagh and Uttar Jatrabari used the park as an open space to walk since long, said Md Sadekur Rahman, a resident of Uttar Jatrabari. The park was also used to hold Eid prayer congregation twice, he said. The park remains occupied all year round as the authority concerned does not pay proper attention to it, said Shaheed Zia Girls College Principal Fatema Rashid. Fairs were also held there at different times, she said. Fatema said, during BNP's tenure, they applied to DCC to allocate a portion of the park to them as they thought the grounds would be better maintained under the college authority, but were not complied with. “After completion of the flyover, we will apply again to DCC,” she added. Mizanur Rahman, site engineer of Simplex Infrastructure, said they took the grounds from DCC to conduct piling test of the flyover. Salman Karim, managing director of Orion Group, said they would use the place as per contract with DCC. “We will restore the place into a full fledged park by setting playground equipment devices after completion of the flyover and hand it over to DCC,” he said. Aruna Rani, a resident of Uttar Jatrabari area, said they could walk and take rest on the park even two months earlier, which is now impossible. A good number of women used the park for their walks. Most stopped walking while some now walk on the roads, she said. “We can wait for the construction of the flyover as that is also necessary but the sufferings of the residents will be fruitful if the park is returned to its proper state,” said Osman, a resident of Uttara Jatrabari. Ward 84 Councillor Atikulla Atik said DCC constructed a link road from Jatrabari to Demra around five years ago to reduce traffic pressure at Jatrabari. Public toilet was built as passengers and floating people of Jatrabari used the park as a toilet. After the toilet's constructing, the park's environment became better, he added. Atikulla said the concrete structure was constructed by DCC for waste management and they are temporarily using it for the last six months. “I will leave it after hiring a suitable place for my office,” he added. About the pump, he said there was no other alternative place to set it up 20 years back. DCC Chief Estate Officer Md Moshiar Rahman said they allocated the grounds to the construction firm only for the duration of the flyover's construction and it would be restored as a park.
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