The Shishu Park at Shahbagh in Dhaka that has been closed for renovation since January 2019 is unlikely to open to the public by 2026.
An inadequate budget cited by the Dhaka South City Corporation, the construction of an underground parking space by the liberation war affairs ministry, ride pricing re-evaluation issues and the occupation of a portion of the park land by the Shahbagh police station have delayed the renovation work.
鈥楾he re-evaluation committee has yet to submit its report,鈥� said Mohammad Anisur Rahman, a superintending engineer of the South City Corporation who is also the director of the renovation project.
.鈥楤esides, the Shahbagh police station and its control room occupy the park鈥檚 land. It needs to be freed,鈥� he said.
鈥榃e鈥檝e written to the authorities but have yet to receive any response,鈥� Anisur Rahman said on March 3.
鈥業 still hope to complete the work by 2026 if the committee re-evaluates the pricing and the police vacate the land,鈥� the project director said.
The modernisation plan, initially initiated by the liberation war affairs ministry at a cost of Tk 265.44 crore as part of the third phase of the Building Liberation Monument in Suhrawardy Udyan project, was supposed to begin in January 2018 and end in December 2019.
This, however, has not happened as the south city authorities have rejected the initial proposal, involving Tk 78 crore, citing fund inadequacy for renovation and the rides.
The corporation, instead, has come up with another project for the park involving Tk 603.81 crore, which the National Economic Council approved in October 2023. The renovation work, which began in May 2024, is scheduled for completion in June 2026.
While the city authorities will arrange for about Tk 120.76 crore, the government will provide the remaining Tk 483.05 crore.
In October 2024, after the interim government had assumed office in August 8 that year, allegations of ride purchase for prices multiple times the usual surfaced on the media, prompting the city authorities to form a committee in December to re-evaluate the pricing.
Md Aminul Islam, the chief engineer of the city corporation, has said that the two teachers of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology appointed to re-evaluate the pricing have attended only one meeting.
After the city authorities had written to the BUET authorities, they said that they would evaluate the pricing if the authorities would appoint them consultants, which the city authorities cannot do, keeping to the rules, he said.
The city authorities have approached the Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology in Gazipur on the matter. A response is still pending.
鈥楶oor and street children were also allowed to enjoy the rides free every Wednesday in the park. Children have already been deprived for long,鈥� said Adil Muhammad Khan, director of the Institute for Planning and Development.
鈥楽o, the authorities should immediately re-evaluate the pricing and complete the work by 2026,鈥� he said.
The project director has said that the liberation war affairs ministry is carrying out the construction of an underground parking space, an underpass, walkways, an underground reservoir and a freedom fighters鈥� memorial inside the park.
Two notice boards are put up at the park鈥檚 main gate, saying that construction of an office building, supportive infrastructure, a plaza, water supply and drainage facilities, a boundary wall and a walkway are going on.
The new proposal says that the city authorities would build a recreational park with 15 rides, a food court, toilets, a fountain and a garden.聽
The Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation established Shishu Park, the country鈥檚 first amusement park for children, in 1979 on 15 acres of land as a profit-making venture.
