Don’t Turn Playgrounds into Parking Lots

When the capital Dhaka is already starving for breathing space, every single green space and playground becomes invaluable. Yet, the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) recently chose to convert a local playground in Saidabad into an impromptu parking lot for its waste-management fleet. A recent photograph published in this newspaper shows heavy garbage trucks occupying the dirt, effectively driving away the local residents and children who rely on the area for exercise, sports and recreation. It is a frustrating sight, a condemnable move, and it reveals a troubling habit within municipal governance: treating valuable community spaces as convenient overflow lots whenever administrative challenges pop up.

Nobody is denying that managing Dhaka’s waste is a massive, complex and continuous struggle. The city generates thousands of tonnes of garbage every single day, and the DSCC genuinely needs reliable vehicles, specialised equipment and functioning logistics to keep the city clean and healthy. But recognising the scale of that challenge does not mean we should accept poor planning as an excuse for encroaching on public land. Operational demands require dedicated depots and smart logistical strategy, not a lazy shortcut that shifts the city corporation’s storage problems onto the shoulders of local residents. Shortages in parking capacity cannot become a valid reason to override the intended purpose of a neighbourhood park.

Unfortunately, what is happening in Saidabad is part of a much larger and more alarming trend across the entire city. Rapid construction, high-rise development, and relentless traffic have systematically chipped away at Dhaka’s open spaces over the last few decades. Most neighbourhoods are now left with almost no open and safe places where children can kick a ball around or where older residents can take a morning and evening walk. When competing urban demands put pressure on the few parks that remain, losing even a single field delivers a heavy blow to the quality of life in that immediate community. The Saidabad situation is a clear wake-up call showing why city authorities need far greater discipline when managing the public assets under their care.

That is why the DSCC needs to step up and take immediate corrective action. First, it must remove the garbage trucks from Saidabad playground without delay and fully restore the field for community use. Beyond that, city corporation officials need to conduct a thorough audit of all municipal storage arrangements to make sure no other public parks or play areas are being quietly occupied for DSCC operations. Moving forward, land-use decisions must prioritise genuine community needs rather than quick administrative convenience.

Ultimately, keeping the city clean is a vital public duty, but fulfilling that duty should never come at the expense of our health, our well-being, or our children’s freedom to play. Good urban management means solving complex operational problems through intelligent planning, rather than sacrificing one essential public service just to sustain another. The DSCC can and must keep Dhaka’s waste operations running smoothly without turning our community playgrounds into DSCC parking lots.