Lalmonirhat's only children's park in dire straits
The railway children's park, the lone park in Lalmonirhat town, now serves as a grazing field as well as a haunt for drug addicts, thanks to the negligence of the authorities concerned.Photo: STAR
The lone children's park in Lalmonirhat town has remained virtually unusable for years due to lack of proper maintenance. Lalmonirhat railway authorities built the park beside the railway station about 40 years ago to provide recreation facilities among the children, especially of the railway employees. About four thousand railway employees with their families live in the town, said Sirazul Haque, 65, an employee of Bangladesh Railway, and a resident of Sahebpara at Lalmonirhat. "Although built for the children of railway employees, the park served as recreation centre for a good number of children from different areas in the town. My two sons, when they were students of primary school in 1980s, came to the park regularly and played with other children there. But it no longer attracts children now,” he said. Mollah Harun Shaikh, another railway employee, said his three sons and two daughters used to go to the children's park for recreation but now he cannot go there with his grandsons as the environment is polluted. “Drug addicts often stay in the children park. They use drugs openly and sometimes abuse locals who come to the park with their children. The environment has turned awfully bad during the last several years,” said Morshedul Islam, a resident of Avijanpara in the town. Asadur Rahman, 9, a class four student of Railway Children's Park School, said, "We the children can't go to the park for recreation as the environment is ugly. Seats and cradles are shabby, smokers stay there, and cows and goats graze too.” "I often stay inside home and pass my leisure by watching television as I cannot go to the park," said Mrinal Das, 8, a Class three student of the same school. Liakot Ali, a teacher of Khochabari Government Model Primary School in the town, said, "Recreation is essential for children's mental growth and development in study. I requested the railway authorities to take steps for reviving the lone children's park in Lalmonirhat town.” Contacted, the OC of Lalmonirhat railway police station Sirazul Islam said he will take action against the drug addicts who stay in the park. Asadul Haque, divisional engineer of Lalmonirhat Railway Division under the West Zone of railway, admitted that the children's park has remained unused for years. “If the environment around the park improves, I will take necessary steps to re-arrange and modernise it,” he said.
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