A park once filled with children’s laughter, colourful rides and the familiar tune “Amader deshta shopnopuri, sathi moder phulkuri” has now stood silent for seven years in Shahbagh, home to the capital’s main children’s park.
Dust, unfinished structures and neglect have replaced what was once a joyful space, leaving visitors with a deep sense of loss.
Yet families still come.
During the last Eid, Jasim Mia brought his seven-year-old daughter to the park, only to return without entering.
“My daughter felt very upset. If it stays closed for so long, where will we take our children?” the father told TIMES of Bangladesh.
The park, familiar to generations of Dhaka residents, has seen its identity shift over the years. Established in 1979 as Shaheed Zia Shishu Park, it was renamed Hossain Shaheed Suhrawardy Shishu Park in 2021.
A Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) board meeting on 20 February last year later restored its original name. Despite these changes, most people still know it simply as Shahbagh’s Dhaka Shishu Park.
Once the country’s largest children’s park, the facility served as a key recreational space for families across the capital. Weekends and holidays brought steady crowds. Children from all backgrounds enjoyed affordable rides, open spaces and a rare chance to play freely. Today, its locked gates stand as a reminder of a promise still unfulfilled.
In January 2019, Dhaka South City Corporation authorities announced the park’s closure by putting up a notice at the entrance.
The notice stated that development and modernisation work would take place under the Independence Monument construction project (third phase) at Suhrawardy Udyan. It also said the park would remain closed to avoid any unforeseen accidents during work.
The project was meant to finish within that year. Funding complications delayed its start in 2019. Authorities later extended the deadline several times. In 2022, they set a new target to complete the work by June 2026.
During holidays, adults can still be seen visiting the area with their children. Visitors say little has changed on the ground.
Kamrul Hasan, who visited the park with his family, expressed frustration.
“We came from far, but the situation has not improved. There are already very few recreational spaces for children, especially for low and middle-income families. It has remained closed for years, so where are we supposed to go in this city?” he said.
The 15-acre park was established in 1979 under the Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation. It was handed over to the Dhaka Municipal Corporation in 1983.
Now the Public Works Department owns the land, while DSCC operates the park. Officials said the work could not be completed on time due to changes in the project plan and various administrative complications.
However, they added that procurement of rides and other related activities is now progressing quickly, and the park may reopen by June 2027.
Planning decisions taken earlier appear to have shaped the current delay.
In 2018, authorities planned an underground parking facility beneath the park. This led to the removal of old rides and a broader modernisation initiative. However, disagreements over funding stalled the project from the outset.
In 2020, DSCC adopted a revised project worth Tk603.81 crore using its own initiative, which was approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) in 2023.
A major portion of the budget was allocated for the purchase and installation of 15 European-standard modern rides. However, tender complications, evaluation disputes and political changes slowed the project for a long period.
DSCC Supervising Engineer (Mechanical) Anisur Rahman said that around 37 per cent of the project work has been completed and preparations are underway to procure the rides.
Inside the park, the changes are clearly visible.
A large underground parking facility has been constructed across a major part of the park. No trace of the old rides remains. Temporary stalls line the entrance, where people gather for tea and cigarettes. Large trees from the central area have been cut down, while the small mounds that once defined the landscape have almost disappeared.
Urban planner Adil Mohammed Khan has raised concerns that constructing parking beneath the park and installing rides above it could create safety risks. Speaking to TIMES, he said, “The entire space is being covered with concrete. People want open, natural spaces with soil, plants and grass, not concrete structures.”
DSCC Administrator Abdus Salam said he has reviewed the project and directed officials to speed up work.
“The children of Dhaka now have nowhere to go for recreation—this was one of the few spaces for them. Closing it has caused serious harm,” he said.
Before 1979, the area formed part of Dhaka’s Ramna–Suhrawardy green landscape, once open parkland and racecourse grounds that hosted public gatherings and historic events during the British and Pakistani periods. The children’s amusement park was later established on this government land, transforming the civic open space into Bangladesh’s first state-run children’s park.
For now, the gates of Shahbagh’s Shaheed Zia Shishu Park remain shut. Once a cherished part of children’s experience since the early years of Bangladesh’s existence, the park stood as a rare space of joy and recreation in the city. The sounds of laughter that once filled the air have now faded into silence. With each passing year, those memories feel further away. For countless children growing up without it, the park is no longer a place they can visit — only a story they have yet to experience.
