Playground land bought with villagers' donations, festival held in Babupur

Children of the village used to play on the vacant land after paddy harvesting. But the games stopped whenever new crop cultivation began. To resolve this long-standing problem, residents of Babupur village in Deuli Union of Delduar upazila in Tangail took the initiative themselves. Setting aside differences between rich and poor, they collected donations from everyone and purchased 60 decimals of land. With their long-cherished dream fulfilled, the villagers took possession of the land amid joy and festivities by playing musical instruments on Thursday (October 29).

Babupur village is home to over 700 families. Its population exceeds three and a half thousand. Despite a significant number of children, adolescents and youth in the village, there was no dedicated playground. As a result, they remained deprived of regular sports facilities. Earlier initiatives to buy land for a field were taken several times but never materialised.

SM Iqbal Mahmud, a son of the village, and sports personality Khorshed Alam came forward this time to make the initiative successful. Iqbal Mahmud said he discussed the matter with Khorshed Alam a few months ago. Khorshed Alam also showed interest in the proposal to buy land for the field through collective funding by the villagers. Later, when contact was made with some affluent residents of the village, they too assured cooperation.

Khorshed Alam said not only the affluent but also ordinary people of the village took part in the initiative. Some contributed Tk 200, some Tk 500 or Tk 1,000. Others, according to their ability, provided Tk 2,000, Tk 5,000 or even up to Tk 10,000.

With the money collected from all, 60 decimals of land was purchased from Iqbal Hossain Sujan of the village. The price was fixed at Tk 52,000 per decimal. The landowner also donated one decimal. He formally handed over the land to the villagers on Thursday.

A festive atmosphere prevailed in Babupur from the morning of the day the land was taken over. Villagers arrived at the site playing musical instruments. The national flag was hoisted there. Youths welcomed the village elders and those involved in the initiative with flower garlands. Celebrations continued throughout the day.