No child friendly cities and no promotion of games and sports

The generation Z unlike its predecessor millennial is more discriminated against in terms of green space and playgrounds, particularly in almost all cities and other urban centres of Bangladesh. Dhaka is basically a city hostile to children, trees and open/green space. Evidently, there is no child friendly city, as defined by the Unicef, in Bangladesh. A child friendly city is the one that painstakingly implements the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child at the local level.
Unfortunately, the urban environment in Dhaka and other metropolis is infamous in robbing childhood of children. Let alone theme parks like the Walt Disney World Resort and Universal Orlando Resort in Orlando in the sunshine state of Florida, children do not even have open space or playground for games and sports or even walking and running under trees or in the lap of mother Nature. They are simply not oriented to soak in the scent, sight and touch of the natural world that has a miraculous healing effect on body and mind.
At a discussion arranged in the city recently urban planners have pointed out the paucity of open spaces and playgrounds and of the very small number there is, not all are accessible to the public. There are 235 playgrounds in this sprawling megacity but only 42 of those are accessible to the public or children from all strata. That playgrounds and open spaces are open to all does not, however, guarantee that all children in the neighbourhood enjoy the facilities. The majority of children living there cannot do so, because of the academic routine which hardly leaves them enough time for playing games.
Even if they get a break from the routine, they are now habituated to spending their spare times on screens --- ranging from smartphone to computer/laptop and television. Also, the playgrounds have lately been shaped in a manner with some concrete structures that only offers better opportunities to the elders for their morning or evening walks but little space for playing games. If one group takes over the available space, the rest have to do some limited practice on the sidelines.
But children must break free from the monotonous coaching-to-class-to-home tutoring routine if they have to develop as complete human beings. What the majority of young learners of the generation Z have become paints a bleak picture for society now evolving. Their robotic transformation is likely to be even more intense and widespread for the next generation Alpha with greater urbanisation.
Even in villages, the young ones are herded to coaching centres but still they have time for play. But apart from school playgrounds which in most cases are not well maintained, there is little scope for pursuing games and sports. Even smartphones have made their unwelcome entry into rural space and many of the youths are honed to browsing. The Alpha generation is growing up to see that their predecessor generation Z with the digital tag is absorbed or even addicted to social sites and other unapproved browsing activities.
What all these indicate is that there is no promotion of sports and games in this country. If there is no urge for something, who is there to take the initiative for making the facilities. The limited ones that are built are reserved for the privileged few. This is clear from the establishment of monopoly or even occupation of playgrounds in the capital city, which were open to all a few years back. So clubs take over such facilities and even add to the existing ones but only for their exclusive use.
This cannot be an ideal way to promote games and sports or even the nation's health. To promote those, there is a need for involving the entire nation and incentivise such exercises. In Bangladesh, the impression is that there is only one game --- cricket that is. Football has been marginalised, and hockey even more. Other games and sports have been relegated to the backburner. Even shooting and chess with immense potential could not take their rightful place in global context.
The media's role in this regard is pathetic, to say the least. In fact, media should take the doubtful credit of creating the impression that there is no other game other than cricket. The World Athletics Championship in Budapest, Hungary concluded the other day but the newspaper or the electronic media here feigned as if it was an unimportant event. Cricket coverage left no space for even the excellent feats human beings are capable of. Anyone who saw the contest in javelin throw even on You Tube was witness to the making of history when two athletes from South Asia Neerak Chopra from India and Arshad Nadeem from Pakistan won gold and silver medals respectively.
It is particularly important because of the message that shorter and apparently less muscular human bodies can excel in sports. Their rivals in the West were better off with those attributes but it was dedication, training and skill that helped them beat their rivals. The generation Z and Alpha must get exactly such inspirations for pursuing extracurricular activities in addition to study. This is how, nation grows in body and mind.