Tetultola was never a playground and it now belongs to the police, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said on Wednesday.
It was an abandoned property, so it was decided to build a police station there, he told civil society representatives who have been protesting against the construction of a police station.
"A police station building needs to be constructed in Kalabagan. We got this place. Now, if the [DSCC] mayor allocates another place, the field will be there. This is now the police's property," said the home minister.
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"The next decision will be made if an alternative place is found. Police stations are also built for the people," he added.
The home minister on Monday 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.
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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.
Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) Chief Executive Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon Joint Secretary architect Iqbal Habib and Nijera Kori Coordinator Khushi Kabir were present at the meeting.
Syeda Rizwana said they had proposed an alternative site for the construction site of the police station.
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At that time, Khushi Kabir said that the home minister had told the DMP commissioner to stop the construction of the wall.
Earlier, members of a dozen civil society organziations protested against the move on Monday and issued a 24-hour ultimatum to stop the construction.
But the DMP continued to erect a boundary wall on Tuesday.
Also Read - DMP: Police station at Tetultola being constructed as per law
The protesters also condemned the detention of Udichi member Syeda Ratna and her underaged son on Sunday for protesting against the “illegal and unconstitutional” move, and demanded an inquiry.
In a statement, the DMP on Tuesday said that the local MP had written to the home minister for the construction of the Kalabagan police station on the Tetultola ground, adding that the deputy commissioner of Dhaka had sent the feasibility report along with the recommendation of acquisition to the Land Ministry.
“The central land allocation committee of the government unanimously decided to acquire the land for Kalabagan police station.
“The deputy commissioner sent an estimate of Tk27.54 crore as compensation for the land which has been paid by the Home Ministry,” the statement said.
On January 31 last year, the deputy commissioner’s office handed over the possession of the land to the DMP.
The gazette notification regarding the handing over of the land possession was published on February 17 while the naming of the land was completed on March 27.
“The Kalabagan field is located a little ahead of the Tetultola playground and children can play there,” said the statement.
