The Dhanmondi Cricket Ground, popularly known as Abahani Ground, and Dhanmondi Club Ground, formerly known as Sheikh Jamal Club Ground, are set for wider sporting use after the Housing and Public Works Ministry and the Ministry of Youth and Sports signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Thursday.
The agreement, signed at the Ministry of Housing and Public Works conference room at the Secretariat, will ensure the preservation, maintenance and proper management of the two grounds.
Under the MoU, the Ministry of Youth and Sports will oversee the grounds for five years. The two sides will later decide on any extension through further discussions.
Housing and Public Works Minister Zakaria Taher said the move was aimed at making better use of sporting facilities in the capital, where playing fields are in short supply.
“Instead of limiting these grounds to a particular sport, handing them over to the Ministry of Youth and Sports for professional management will ensure their best use,” Taher said.
He said the government was committed to creating opportunities for sport in every neighbourhood and spreading sporting activities across the country.
Youth and Sports Minister Aminul Haque said the government aimed to remove the politicisation of sports clubs, restore a neutral environment and make sporting facilities more accessible to the public and young people.
He said archery and shooting facilities would be developed at Dhanmondi Club Ground, while the sporting facilities at Abahani Ground would also be upgraded before the grounds are opened further to the public.
The development work will be carried out under a public-private partnership (PPP) model. Similar modernisation of other grounds under the Housing and Public Works Ministry in Dhaka will follow in phases.
Haque also said Abahani would continue to have access to the ground for training and other sporting activities.
The MoU was signed by Public Works Department chief engineer Md Khalekuzzaman Chowdhury on behalf of the Housing and Public Works Ministry and National Sports Council executive director Md Daulatuzzaman Khan on behalf of the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
