A park ruled by anti-socials

The United Nations Park wears a deserted look as the number of visitors has reduced, with anti-social elements gaining control over it. PHOTO: Zobaer Hossain Sikder

The park, one of the amusement places for the city-dwellers, now wears a deserted look most of the time as the number of visitors has reduced.

There is no registry or entry record for the visitors. The number of visitors is going down day by day, a security man of the park said.

"Over 2,000 people from different parts of the city used to visit the park daily two years back but the number is now not more than 500," he said seeking anonymity.

The then Pakistan government established the park on over two acres of land. It is located at Katalganj and surrounded by Panchlaish residential area and Nasirabad Housing Society.

Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) is responsible for its maintenance.

The government renamed the park as United Nations Park in 1992.

Later, CCC authorities renovated and developed it.

The park has become a safe haven for the drug addicts, snatchers, floating prostitutes and criminals. Addicts take drug in broad daylight at the park. They continue it till midnight. If the park closes at 8.00pm they easily jump over the 3.5ft boundary wall and do their business in the park without any hindrance.

Besides, eve teasing is a common phenomenon at the park. Female visitors gather acrid experience.

Officially the park is supposed to remain open for all from 4.00pm to 8.00pm daily. But it opens at 6.00 in the morning for an hour for the morning walkers for jogging.

Incidents of snatching occur mainly in the morning when the joggers come due to negligence of security personnel, a local shopkeeper said. Police pay no attention to this, he added.

The city corporation has engaged three security guards and seven gardeners to look after the park.

The guards do duty in three shifts for eight hours each. It is quite impossible for only one guard to see everything in the park," a security man said.

There are four toilets -- two for males and two for females. But three of them remain under lock and key during the park open hour, a gardener said.

Besides, there is no seating arrangement for the visitors in the park and brick-soling road is unsafe for walk during the rainy season. Most of the visitors take seat near the pond side.

"The authorities can easily attract attention of the visitors after a little renovation of the park and earn huge revenue from it installing recreational rides for the children," said Md Rafiq, a gardener.

"Chittagong is a compact city where open place is rare. There is no botanical garden or any other park to spend the spare time. The authorities concerned should pay attention to the United Nations Park to make it place for the city-dwellers to have fresh air or walk a little," said Md Anwar Hossain, a resident of Panchlaish Residential Area.

A city corporation official on condition of anonymity said that there was no plan to either develop the park or extend the facilities to the visitors in this moment. "We have no fund to go for renovation or setting up of rides at the park now", he added.