The Bengali culture, festival and social bonding among the neighbours is gradually vanishing into the thin air as busy urban life usually occupies most of our time. In this context, Gulshan Society in association with Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) organised a festival titled ‘Para Utshob’, meaning neighbourhood festival, at Gulshan-2 in the capital.
DNCC Mayor Atiqul Islam inaugurated the festival on Friday morning whereas US ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R Miller was present. The Mayor said, “We want a city where there will be no discrimination. My goal is to build a truly inclusive city where people of all walks of life will be involved. There will have no chance where someone will get and someone will not. ‘Para Utshob’ will play an important role in strengthening relations between neighbors and strengthen social bonds.”
“Our children are not getting a chance to play, they have no friends. They will suffer from depression if they only get involved with computer and books all the time. We cannot accept this. Sports and social bonding will keep them aside from drug and other addiction. And that's why we have taken this initiative”, he added.
He also said, “We want everyone in this area will come to the streets with family, get to know their neighbors and enjoy the festival all day long. It will strengthen social relations and increase responsibility among themselves and their neighbors. It will also reduce social injustice and unrest. This is how we want to build Dhaka for all.”
Lawmaker Salman F Rahman, Lawmaker Nahid Ezhar Khan, local councilors, senior DNCC officials and people of different age groups of Gulshan were present at the inauguration ceremony. The Mayor then visited various stalls with US Ambassador Robert Miller and other invited guests and local residents.
Mayor Atiqul and Ambassador Miller enjoyed watching magic shows, playing chess and carom and eating indigenous cakes from stalls. Later, the mayor visited the entire venue with his invited guests. Bioscope and doll dance added a special dimension in the festival. Besides, various food stalls, healthcare stalls, city corporation stalls, showpieces, different jute goods and other stalls have made the festival more colourful.
Organizers of the festival said that urban life has pushed people to a kind of isolation. Where the neighbors do not have a corner between themselves, where one neighbor appears to be a stranger to another within the same area, which weakens the most important ‘neighboring community’ socially. Nadia Akhter, a visitor of the festival said, “We neighbors live in a building for a long time, but nobody knows anyone closely. So, I think the festival will help to get acquainted with everyone and to strengthen the relationship.”
