Tetultala playground occupied due to Dhaka Wasa repair works

Kalabagan's Tetultala playground, which came to the limelight when the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) earmarked the location to build a new police station in April last year, is occupied once again by the Dhaka Wasa for repair works in the area.

The field currently doesn't have any children playing. There are a few workers milling around and an excavator which sports the logo of the Dhaka Wasa. The workers are busy digging up the field and setting up a makeshift establishment for water tanks and pumps.

"We are in the process of installing a deep tube well and a pump next to the Tetultala field, which is why we had to break the wall and use the field," Dhaka Wasa Executive Engineer (MODS ZONE-3) Jayanta Saha told The Business Standard. 

He also said local councillors and the community were consulted before starting with the works. 

Acknowledging that there are a few problems with this work in public interest, Saha said, "We had to cut down a couple of tree branches.

"Hopefully, the work will be completed within the next month and the playground will be restored for the children soon," he added.  

According to a locals, the work started soon after Eid-ul-Fitr.

Earlier in 2022, the playground, a favourite spot for children of the area, became a scene of two instances of what rights activists have termed heinous violations by law enforcers.

Amid protests against occupying the field, a member of the Bangladesh Udichi Shilpi Goshthi, Syeda Ratna, and her 17-year-old son Isha Abdullah, were then detained, illegally according experts. Her around 13-hour detention sparked outrage across social media.

She was picked up by law enforcers while attending a protest against building the police station.

According to police, no case was filed against her and she was released around midnight after signing a bond to not "obstruct government works".

Finally, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gave the directive to not build the Kalabagan Police Station in Tetultala, following which an air of festivity swept the neighbourhood, with locals celebrating their triumph in a long, hard fought battle.