Civil society representatives have expressed solidarity with the locals in Kalabagan to demand the relocation of the proposed police station from Tetultola playground.
They have demanded an inquiry into the detention of Syeda Ratna and her underaged son on Sunday for protesting against the “illegal and unconstitutional” move.
Speaking at a human chain on the field on Monday afternoon, Syeda Rizawana Hasan, chief executive of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), said that if the authorities did not stop the work, the protesters along with the locals would remove the construction materials on their initiative.
At the time, a number of police members were seen working on the field to raise a boundary wall. A barbed-wire fence has already been constructed.
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The residents of Ward No 17 have been using the open space for nearly 50 years as an Eidgah, for bathing corpses and as a hub for social and cultural festivals. It is the only playground for children in the area.
Meanwhile, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said that he had discussed the matter with the Dhaka South City Corporation mayor so that children could find an alternative place for a playground.
Talking to the media at Tejgaon Government Science College, he said that the matter would be resolved after discussions with stakeholders.
The minister said that the plan to construct a permanent building for the Kalabagan police station had been pending for many years. “The police station now operates from a rented building.”
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Regarding the detention of Udichi member Syeda Ratna and her son, the minister said that the police had tried to stop her several times when she was live-streaming her protest on Facebook from the site. “As she did not listen to them, officers took her to the station for interrogation.”
Rights activists strongly condemned the detention of Syeda Ratna and her underage son in a media call on Monday, April 25, 2022 Mehedi Hasan/Dhaka TribuneOn Sunday morning, Syeda Ratna and her son Isha Abdullah Piyangsu, an HSC examinee, were detained for “spreading hate speech on social media” as she protested the construction.They were released nearly after 13 hours, in the early hours of Monday, in the face of protests by rights groups.
The citizens' protest was organized by Human Rights Support Society, Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD), Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa), Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), Ain o Salish Kendra, Green, Amra Kori, Nagorik Uddyog, Naripakkha, Bangladesh Udichi Shilpogoshti, TIB and others.
At the human chain, the protesters asked the home minister to find an alternative place and to withdraw the force immediately.
The gathering was attended by locals and activists of various organizations on the playground.
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Women rights activist Khushi Kabir said that the local community did not even want a club to be built on the field. “The construction work of the police station is still going on even after the speech of the home minister. If it continues till tomorrow (Tuesday), we will take a more active role with the locals to prevent it.”
Syeda Rizwana Hasan announced a five-point charter of demands, asking DSCC and Rajdhani Unnayan Katripakkha (Rajuk) to sit with the locals to resolve the issue, and arrange the Eid congregation this year.
“We will help the police find a suitable place for the police station,” she said, while asking the police members on the field to join the movement.
She also demanded that the authorities stop harassing the locals for opposing the construction. “It’s the job of the police to safeguard the people from any threat, but instead they’re threatening the people.”
Architect Iqbal Habib said that the home minister had assured that the police station would be shifted soon. He warned against continuing the construction work during the Eid holidays.
Meanwhile, 19 noted citizens of the country, mostly cultural activists and academicians, have expressed solidarity with the movement and asked the government to allocate the ground for the children.
In a statement issued on Monday, they also condemned the detention of Syeda Ratna and her son, asking the government why someone should be arrested for waging a protest on any issue.
In the morning, the protesters held a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) to condemn the detention of Syeda Ratna and her son, and to demand the relocation of the police station.
They said that the government must suspend construction work unless it allocated an alternative location for the children.
“We demand that the Tetultola field be kept as an open space. All the ongoing activities of constructing a police station should be stopped immediately,” Khushi Kabir said in a written statement.
Syeda Rizwana said that the detention of Ratna had been pre-planned and was a ploy to instill fear into local residents.
Regarding the detentions, Bapa Joint Secretary Iqbal Habib said: “Even though Syeda Ratna and her son have been released in the face of protests, they had to sign a bond that they will no longer protest. This is illegal.”
He also sought the prime minister’s intervention to stop the construction of the police station.