Sirajuddaula Park: A haven for drug addicts
Sirajuddaula Park
Sirajuddaula Park still looks comparatively good in the morning, but the atmosphere starts getting worse from afternoon when the park becomes crowded with floating people. Generally residents of Koshaituli, Jindabahar, Tantibazar, Bashabari Lane, and Syed Awlad Hossain Lane in the city come to the park everyday. They spend time or do physical exercise and boys often play badminton there. The park has five of its sitting benches specially arranged for women visitors only. But the recreational place becomes a heaven for drug addicts at night, polluting its ambience and environment, said Mohammad Delowar Hossain of Bongshal area. Sirajuddaula Park has lost its beauty now. Poor maintenance by the authorities concerned is blamed for the loss. Delower said just 15 years ago the park was full of greenery and flower. But lack of proper maintenance damages the ground's earlier look, he added. There is a walkway around the 0.61-acre park. A signboard there reads “if anyone walks 11 times around the park they will have walked a distance of one mile”. People coming there to do physical exercise everyday formed an organisation named Bhorer Otithi, of which Haji Mohammad Yousuf is the vice-president. Yousuf said they submitted a prayer to Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) about one year ago to renovate the park but they did not get any result of it. He said the fence of the park is broken at different points and five of electric poles out of eight are out of order for long. Though there is a gardener for the park, one person is not sufficient to maintain it when at least four persons are necessary, according to Haji Yusuf. He also blamed the nearby bus terminal for destruction of the park environment. Superintending engineer of DCC (circle-1), Muhammad Abul Hasnath, said, “We took a step to develop the park including the walkway and boundary, but it was not approved by the authorities for which we could not do the work.” Sirajuddaula Park is also adorned with a fountain inside set up during the tenure of former mayor late Mohammad Hanif. It still works, but looks shabby. Pagla Suruj of Jindabahar area had worked for the DCC for about 30 years. He said six palm trees and two chambal trees have been in the park for over 100 years. But they could not plant flower trees in the park, as the children coming there destroy the trees, said Suruj, who retired from the DCC two years back. Sirajuddaula Park was established in memory of Nawab Sirajuddaula, the nabab of Bengal who defeated in the battle of Palashi in 1757. Nawab Salimullah contributed to the establishment of the park.
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