Dhaka in dire need of recreational facilities

By way of recreational facilities, Dhaka, the world's most densely populated megacity with a population of 23.21 million, boasts an unenviable record. The shortage of entertainment spots becomes particularly evident on the occasion of festivals like Eid-ul-Fitr. Those Dhaka residents who cannot get out of Dhaka during such holidays have reasons to count them miserable as the handful of recreational venues available in the capital get overwhelmed by heavy rushes of crowds. In most cases, the visitors return home disappointed, exhausted and with bitter experiences. The fact is that there are not enough facilities in this city for a family to relax together in a peaceful environment. So overcrowded the few outdoor venues here become on Eid holidays that even fun-loving children have to jostle for a space in an amusement park, let alone the elders in a peaceful pristine surrounding. 

The options for visitors are not many. The national zoo, botanical garden,  national museum, Dhanmondi lake, Ramna Park, Suhrawardy Udyan, Hatir Jheel, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Novo Theatre, Bangabandhu Military Museum are the places of public attraction. Long queues are seen in front of privately-run entertainment centres including Jamuna Amusement Park, Toggi Fun World, Fantasy Kingdom, Nandan Park and Babuland. Historical places such as Lalbagh Fort, Ahsan Manjil, Panam Nagar and Sonargaon museum also experience a mad rush of recreation-seekers every Eid. They find themselves virtually at a war with each other while buying tickets, entering recreational centres and have a look peacefully inside the centres. Some of them sometimes give up in the middle and make a rush for another entertainment centre. Many of them, however, hardly become successful, end up wasting hours in this process and return home without visiting any place.

The spots, which do not require tickets, see huge crowds in front of entry and exit gates and often women and girls feel threatened to be molested and harassed in such crowds. Those who are fortunate to enter recreational centres feel disappointed because the heavy rush does not give them any time for relaxation or peace of mind. There is almost nothing new to experience in Dhaka's recreational venues. People are tired of visiting zoo animals of particular good health and in the best of environment and the same old places around the city. The national zoo in Mirpur hardly boasts the standard of such world-class facilities. It has a large area but it does not seem to be attractive and organised to the visitors. Cinema halls have now become a thing of the past and many of them have already been demolished to give in to shopping malls. Theatre is concentrated centrally and posh areas like Gulshan, Banani, Uttara and even Dhanmondi have no theatre halls.

Public recreational centres do not seem to take any preparatory measure before Eid holidays for managing huge gathering of visitors. Also, the authorities concerned appear to be least bothered about the service they provide. Shishu Park in Shahbagh area used to be a prominent centre of recreation for families in the past. Once, Eid festival seemed to be quite incomplete if children could not visit this place. The park, unfortunately, has remained closed since January 2019 for modernisation. No one knows when it will reopen. Instead of outdoor playgrounds, children now want to spend their time in indoor play-zones. But there too, people experience long queues during Eid holidays. Even after paying a notable amount of money, children cannot experience all the rides of these zones on Eid holidays.

The problem lies with the mismatch between the city's space and its population size. In an ideal city, some 30-40 people live on each acre of land. But the number of people who live in this city is more than 400 in each acre of land. It is not easy to define whether or not an area for entertainment centre is adequate, yet recreation specialists have come up with rough rules which are often used; one standard, for example, is that a city should have one acre of park or playground for every 100 inhabitants. Even this number of recreational spaces is not adequate unless they are well planned, well developed and well managed, according to the American Planning Association. In case of Dhaka city, if there is a park or playground even for its 1,000 people, it would be a matter of contentment and relief. For a population of over 23 million, Dhaka city does not seem to have more than 20 recreational sites for indoor or outdoor enjoyment. The lack of adequate entertainment centres is one of the factors that has kept Dhaka on the list of the least liveable cities in the world for years. It is still the seventh least liveable city in the world, according to the Global Liveability Index 2022.

Overcrowded recreational centres should prompt the authorities concerned to set up more such facilities across the city.  It is time to address the problem of inadequate recreational arrangements in Dhaka. Otherwise, it will have adverse physical and psychological impacts on youngsters, who have nowhere to go to be close to nurture and stimulate their creativity or pursue interests in games and sports. The government should involve town planners and others to design and organise more places of sports and recreation in order to provide for a healthy and refreshing living.

[email protected]