Everyone, these days, seems to lead a life full of modern facilities. For this, they have come a long way from their conventional extended family life to flat-bound city life. Development projects are occupying open spaces and water bodies to establish housing plots. Urbanisation is gaining momentum even in rural areas. Once known for abundant parks, Dhaka city has already transformed into a concrete jungle. Now, with more than 10 million inhabitants, the capital city lacks adequate recreational spaces and parks.
The condition of most parks today is pitiable, to say the least. Park maintenance around the city is completely ignored in many neighbourhoods. This lack of recreational space means that people flock to the shopping malls and fast-food restaurants, which can no way be called a healthy practice particularly for children. Today, young people stay indoors and spend their leisure watching contents on screens of phones or laptops. They do not have the opportunity to venture out and look for entertainment outdoors or have an inspiring conversation with the elderly. Swimming or engaging in outdoor sports is quite impossible in this city.
Without the close touch with Nature, a child can never be able to have a healthy growth, both mentally and spiritually. If a child is restricted to a room, it will limit to its thinking process. To give a child a healthy life, we should provide them with open spaces and playgrounds where they can play, run and enjoy their childhood. This is how we can save them from the four walls of a room and the dreadful screen addiction of a mobile or a computer. Perhaps instead of creating towering apartment buildings, more development projects focusing on recreational spaces such as parks and playgrounds should be invested in.
Md Sajidul Islam Sohan,
Student of University of Dhaka, Dhaka,
mdsajidulislam077@gmail.com