Jamalpur Municipal Children’s Park is the lone recreation centre for children, but it is no more a place for them to run and jump in a happy way as it has not been repaired and maintained for long.
The unpruned bushes and unkept grasses have made it quite unsafe for them to play in.
The park’s recreation equipment – swings, sliders and merry-go-rounds -- are also not in a good condition as they all are gathering dust.
Most of them have already gone out of order and the rest on the verge of going to ruins.
Parents are no more eager for taking their children to this park. Rather, they are trying to amuse their children in a different way and for that, going elsewhere.
The municipality, established in 1869, achieved a first class status in 1993. The district council later handed over the park to the municipal authorities.
The municipal authorities then equipped the park with swingers, sliders and merry-go-round facilities, drawing in a lot of children.
But thanks to their indifference, neither the park nor its equipment were properly maintained, leaving it in such a condition before long.
Seeking anonymity, a municipal official admittedly said the park is now hardly worth being used by children. Yet some nagging children are seen coming here nowadays only to be met with accidents.
However, the park could be given a facelift for the time being in case locals come up with a move to create pressure on the municipal authorities, he said, adding that the park is also running the risk of being the haven of anti-socials as all the lampposts there have also gone out of order.
When Mayor Advocate Wares Ali Mamun was asked about this park, he sai: “This park needs to be given a facelift immediately. But we cannot do it.
“We invited a tender in the past but we cannot go ahead due to donours’ indecision over funding it. However, we will have our project started as soon as we get donours’ consent to funding it.”