Several sports personalities demanded the immediate withdrawal of the case against environmentalists, filed by Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club Ltd, for entering the Dhanmondi playground and the demolition of all illegal structures of the private club from the public playground, yesterday.
The protesters raised their demands at a press conference at the Women’s Voluntry Association (WVA) Auditorium in Dhanmondi. They also declared they would work together in the future to free all the public playgrounds and open spaces from grabbers.
Speaking at the press conference, former Footballer and National Coach Golam Sarwar Tipu said their movement was to press home their demands to withdraw the false case against national award-winning sports person Kamrun Nahar Dana and three other sports personalities.
“The city corporation has reopened the playground to all people, the why was the case filed by the private club not considered illegal? The government should immediately take steps to dissolve the false case,” he said.
Former cricketer and Manager ASM Faruk said: “It is very pathetic that the authorities of Sheikh Jamal club, who were trying to occupy a public playground, have filed a case against the green activists and protesters.”
“Kamrun Nahar Dana had not visited the playground on that day, and yet the club authority filed a fake case against her,” he added, and also demanded the immediate cancellation of the case.
The briefing was moderated by Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu, former captain of the national cricket team and convener of the playgrounds protest committee of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa).
Lipu said a vested quarter had intentionally filed the case accusing the green activists.
The Dhaka South City Corporation’s (DSCC) decision to open the field to the public proves that the accused did nothing wrong by entering the field.
“So the case should be dropped immediately,” he added.
In response to a query, Lipu said a case filed by the environmentalist groups was now pending, therefore, it is not wise to comment about it.
The press conference was also addressed by former cricketer Shafiqul Haque Heera, former swimmer Laila Nur Begum, former Judo player Kamrun Nahar Hiru and many former and active sports personalities.
Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club General Secretary Arifur Rahman filed the case against former Institution of Architects Bangladesh (IAB) President Mubasshar Hussain, Architect Salma A Shafi, Bangladesh Women’s Sports Association General Secretary Kamrun Nahar Dana and Bapa Joint Secretary Iqbal Habib, after some green activists staged demonstrations protesting the “illegal occupation” of the Dhanmondi playground by the club on April 18.
On April 22, a Dhaka court granted bail to the four environmentalists on a bond of Tk 2,000 each in a case filed for “creating chaos by entering the Dhanmondi playground illegally.”