Rajuk's chief engineer M Emdadul Islam told The Daily Star by phone on Sunday that they will take back the Panthakunja, also known as Population Park, in front of Hotel Sonargaon next week.

"We will bring back the atmosphere of the park by landscaping. We want to turn it into a suitable place again for the public as it has become a spot for cattle rearing now," said Islam.

However, a DCC official said the corporation would hand over the park after conducting an eviction drive.

According to Islam, Rajuk wants back the Gulshan South Park, which he said has become a sweepers' colony, Wonderland in Gulshan and a park in Motijheel where the DCC has started constructing a public toilet.

Regarding Wonderland, now an amusement park for children, Islam said that it was an open playground once and claimed that people want it returned to its former character.

The DCC has about 47 parks of various sizes. It was given responsibility of maintenance through a notification during the Ershad regime although Rajuk owns the parks.

The DCC has leased out three parks at Shyamoli, Gulshan and Sayedabad to private organisations. It is supposed to take care of the rest of the parks but with exception of the Shishu Park at Shahbagh, others have slid into degradation.

Of them, several parks like the ones at Karwan Bazar and Sayedabad have been gobbled up for other purposes or have totally lost their characteristics apparently due to the negligence of the DCC.

Because of this scenario, it was decided at a meeting of the Good Governance and Development Committee, headed by principal secretary to the Prime Minister Dr. Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, a few months ago that the parks would be returned to Rajuk.

On the handing over issue Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon (BAPA) General Secretary Abu Naser Khan commented that it has to be ascertained first whether Rajuk had enough manpower to maintain the parks.

The DCC had also planned on leasing some parks to business concerns in the hope that they can maintain those better.

In this regard, the DCC constituted a guideline that the private ventures will not use the park for any business purpose like installing billboards of their companies and stuff like that.

Dhaka mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka was not available to talk on the issue as he is now abroad.

Meanwhile, following a recent instruction from the mayor, a committee headed by noted intellectual and environmentalist Prof Sirajul Islam Chowdhury was formed to improve the conditions of the Osmani Udyan, a public park.

According to sources, the committee will formulate a plan and start fieldwork within the next three months.