Children in the city are compelled to entertain themselves indoors and on the streets as markets and small businesses mostly occupy city playgrounds and parks.

Dhaka, a city of 10 million people with a child population of two thirds, has only 10 playgrounds and 41 parks owned by the Dhaka City Corporation.

Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) in a survey conducted by them, found that several playgrounds and parks have disappeared.

There is hardly any initiative to preserve the rest or make any space for physical movement as in the recent past there were some initiatives to turn the grounds into high-rise apartment buildings or business complexes.

"The lack of physical movement may cause serious mental hindrance to children. It will not handicap them mentally but a mental imbalance is a probability," said Dr. AHM Firoz, Director, National Mental Health Institute.

"Adults may remain childish, mentally immature and the personality that would grow in them may not be that of a complete human being. Children may suffer from depression, frustration and turn themselves to some kind of addiction," he added.

"This addiction is not only to drugs, but may be also to computers and video games. In the urban areas there has been a new trend of Internet culture (chatting, pornography, etc.) and this too is a kind of addiction," Firoz pointed.

There are instances in the city how playgrounds parks are encroached or occupied, at various occasions.

There was an attempt to encroach the playground of the Asad Gate colony this year. Though the attempt was a failure, the playground is left out of work. The dug up lands for the high-rise construction have become 'ponds' and this land cannot be used as a playground.

The Hazaribagh Park and playground is being occupied mostly by local daily bazars, haats: different programmes of the locality take place on that land.

The high-rise apartments growing in the city also lacks adequate play space for children residing in them.. "The apartment I live does not have any play space. The ground floor can only facilitate the parking of cars," said a young resident of an apartment at Baily Road.

So, parents rush to have their children admitted to schools capacitated with large playgrounds. "Even the reputed educational institutions are constructing buildings on every inch of open space to enrol more students," said a parent. "The aim is to extend the school up to college level." This too is an incentive for parents to enrol students as the mad hunt for higher education institutes after a period of time will not be a matter of concern.

Besides most of the kindergartens, that accommodate thousands of students in the city, do not have playgrounds. Even if they do have any open space, this is not adequate for their students.

Green Force, the youth organisation of Bangladesh Paribesh Andolan (BAPA), indulges in a desperate cry for play space for growing children, youth and for life in general. Sports personnel pledge their support to the cause.