Babupur villagers’ playground dream gets govt backing

For years, children in Babupur village under Delduar upazila of Tangail could play football only after the paddy harvest, as the fields would soon return to cultivation.

Determined to provide their children with a permanent playground, villagers pooled their savings to purchase a piece of land for a playing field. Their initiative has now received a major boost, with the government pledging around Tk4.41 crore to purchase the remaining land following Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s directive.

“Prime Minister Tarique Rahman came to know about the matter through media reports and directed the authorities concerned to take all necessary steps to establish a playground in Babupur village. In line with the prime minister’s directive, the government is providing the funds,” Aminul Haque, state minister for Youth and Sports, told reporters on Sunday.

Aminul Haque met representatives of Babupur village, the additional deputy commissioner of Tangail and the upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) of Delduar at the National Sports Council in Dhaka, where he informed them of the government’s decision to provide financial support.

The villagers, from Deuli Union in Delduar, have already purchased 59 decimals of land for the playground, while the landowner has donated an additional decimal, bringing the total to 60 decimals.

The proposed playground will require 180 decimals of land, leaving another 120 decimals to be purchased, the state minister said.

According to ministry sources, Tk4,41,47,928 will be required to acquire the remaining land.

The villagers expressed their gratitude to the prime minister and satisfaction over the government’s decision, saying they had never imagined their long-held dream would come true.