Delwar Hossain Playground and Crematorium | Shatotto

Communal Harmony

Delowar Hossain playground is one of the revitalization projects of the DSCC’s " Jol Sobuje Dhaka" means " Dhaka as Aquarius and Green" initiative. This project is located at Lalbagh of Dhaka not far from the historical Mughal Garden. For improvement of 4082 sqm playground, it got a budget from city corporation.

During initial visit, it was found that the site was occupied by Hindu community including their religious functions like open to sky crematorium, a Goddess Kali Temple, one graveyard for the Hindu community with an ill-kept ritualistic pond.

With the passage of time, Muslim inhabitants increased, simultaneously Hindu community marginalized. Additionally, an existing mausoleum of local saint was found beside the field.

From the conversation with the community, a hidden conflict was sensed and it was dealt by the design team with renewed hope for both communities.

For a peaceful commencement, firstly the design team took the initiative to develop the ancillary facilities. Due to lack of proper funding, they approached to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Developments (LGRD) authority to explore funds. After convincing them, the authority suggested us to the Ministry of Planning who reviewed the proposal, made physical investigation and sent to the ECNEC (Executive Committee of the National Economic Council). This process took a year to approve.

The project was restarted again in 2019, however due to appointment of contractors was mostly a rehabilitation of the ruling party personnel, the quality of construction resulted in a mediocre outcome. Even they absconded with their payments.

In this disheartening situation, companies like shah cement ltd and KSRM steel along with SHATOTTO came forward with a generous amount to finish the project by installing the Astro turf for the field, drinking water filtration system, retaining the pond water and planting vegetation.