Residents of port city are currently unable to use Jatisangha Park in Panchlaish due to delayed renovation work.

The port city lacks sufficient parks and open spaces for its residents. Jatisangha Park, established in 1964 and spanning 2.17 acres, is one of the few parks in Chattogram with free public access.

The park has been off limits to city dwellers for over a year now due to a renovation project.

Earlier, a tug of war over the park between the Chattogram City Corporation and Public Works Department led it to utter disarray, neglect and abandonment for six years, alongside a wastage of around Tk 5 crore of public money.

Park History and Decline

Originally established by the PWD and later handed over to the Chittagong Municipal Corporation in 1969, the park was named Jatisangha Park in 2002.

"It used to be a beautiful park with various trees and a walkway around an artificial lake," said local resident Shahedul Azam.

In 2012, the Chattogram City Corporation constructed two swimming pools and a boundary wall in the park at a cost of Tk 4.80 crore.

However, following a child's drowning in one of the pools, they were abandoned.

In 2016, CCC attempted to lease the park to a private organisation for 25 years, but this was opposed by the then minister for housing and public works, Mosharraf Hossain.

Consequently, a dispute ensued, leaving the park abandoned for six years until it was handed back to the PWD in 2020.

Renovation Project

The PWD began a Tk 12.62 crore renovation project for the park in January last year, scheduled for completion by June this year. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stone for the project on December 4.

Babar Associates and Coronation Corporation, a joint venture, is responsible for the renovation.

The project aims to develop a green garden with attractive greenery, a boundary wall with iron grilles, a walkway, sitting arrangements, restrooms, lighting, a fountain, iron pergolas, a kids' zone, and sports facilities.

Improved drainage is also planned to prevent waterlogging.

Delay and Residents' Frustration

Despite the promising plans, the delay in completing the renovation has frustrated the city dwellers.

"There is no other park for the residents of Panchlaish, Katalganj, Chawk Bazar, Kapasgola, Badurtola, Shulakbahar, Mirzarpool, Parobarttak, Sugandha, and Muradpur areas. The park has been in a sorry state for around six years, depriving us of its facilities," said Miltan Das from Katalganj.

A recent visit to the site revealed that the area had been covered with corrugated sheets, and around 20 workers were found working.

The ground has been elevated with earth-filling to prevent waterlogging, and the boundary wall and walkway have been constructed. Workers are currently excavating land to construct a swimming pool.

However, it is unlikely that the project will be completed by the end of this month as scheduled, as confirmed by Kamrul Islam Khan, executive engineer of PWD, Chattogram (Div-1).

"Around 90 percent of the project work has been completed so far. We had to wait for the monsoon to plant around 3,000 saplings to ensure they thrive in favourable weather, causing some delay," he said.

Khan said they expect to complete the project by August this year.