Tentultala was never a playground: Home minister

The Tentultala field in the capital's Kalabagan area was never a playground, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said today.

"Tentultala was never a playground. It was always an abandoned land of the Public Works Department (PWD)," the minister said on Wednesday (27 April) at the secretariat.

"The DC office allocated the Tentultala land to the police. If the city corporation can give an alternative land, we will consider," he added. 

Earlier, on the issue of Tentultala playground, eminent citizens, including urbanist Iqbal Habib and environmentalist Syeda Rizwana Hasan came to meet the home minister at the secretariat.

"The Home Minister said that he would try his best to protect the ground. He said he would talk to the appropriate authorities and the Prime Minister about our proposal to protect the field," Iqbal Habib revealed to the press following the meeting.

"The Home Minister has assured us that he will talk to the Commissioner of Police to stop the construction work and make arrangements so that the children can enter the field till a final decision is reached," he added.

Meanwhile, human rights activists, environmentalists, cultural activists and locals have warned of a trougher movement if the Tentultala ground is not returned to the locals and children. 

They staged a protest rally against the decision of setting up a police station at Tentultala field. After that 14 native trees were planted along the border of the field.

The protestors said that if the authority does not back down from their decision, a strong movement will be formed with the locals. They have announced that they will continue the movement until the land is returned back as a playground.