Free Tentultala field for children, locals demand

Local children, teenagers and their guardians have demanded for freeing the Tentultala field in the city's Kalabagan area for playing instead of the construction of a police station building.

They put forward the demand at a human chain held on the road beside the Square Hospital in the city on Friday. 

Distinguished individuals in the area and environment activists also expressed solidarity with their demand and urged the authorities concerned to remove the fence and free the field for children. 

On 31 January, police erected barbed wire fences surrounding the open space to construct the Kalabagan Police Station bhaban there.   

Tentultala Field Protection Andolon's Coordinator Syeda Ratna and locals including Jamir Hossain, Raihan Uddin Khan, Shankar Achariya and Arifur Rahman spoke at the programme. 

Setting up barbed wire in the field inflicted mental torture on the children, they said.

"There is no other open space for children to play in the area. If the open space is grabbed by the authorities, where will our children play?," asked Syeda Ratna.  

"We have been using the open space since the liberation war.  We protested previously when anyone hatched a conspiracy to grab it. Now, the police is going to build its office there. We are united to save the field but we are facing a threat for it," said Mosharraf Hossian. 

This correspondent talked to multiple police officials over the issue, but they refused to make any comment.