Raihan Ahmed came home very tired as he had a hectic day at the bank. All he wanted was to get a complete rest, but his six-year-old son was eagerly waiting for his father's return so he could go to the roof and play games.

As there is no playground nearby, the little boy waits all day for his father to come home and take him to the roof. But he does not understand how tired his father gets after working all day at the office.

“I feel my son's predicament. But I feel so exhausted [when I come home]. Nevertheless, I have to take him to the roof and give him time,” Raihan said.

“My son would have been less restless if his school at least had a playground. But it is very unfortunate of him that his school is housed just inside a building that has no playground,” Raihan said.

As with this story of Raihan Ahmed's son, most of the children in the capital undergo similar experiences since their schools too do not have any playground.

Around 64 percent of schools in the capital do not offer any class or course on physical exercise or games, according to a study of Work for Better Bangladesh (WBB), an anti-tobacco organisation.

As per government rules, each primary school and kindergarten in the capital must have playgrounds.

But the situation is quite the opposite. At least 67 percent of children in the capital do not have any place to go for playing, the report claims.

Due to a lack of playgrounds, most of the children spend time by watching television or playing games on computers, tablet computers, smartphones or on other electronic devices.

Jahanara Parveen, an employee at a government office, said, “My five-year-old son always fantasises about the world he sees in cartoons on the television and he also tries to speak in the same language [of the characters].”

The WBB study says around 47 percent of the children in the capital watch more than three hours of television each day.

Dr Helal Ahmed, assistant professor of National Institute of Mental Health, said playground is crucial for the overall development of children. If a child does not get a place for playing and physical exercises, his/her mental and physical growth would be severely affected.

“Children, especially in the cities, are confined to concrete buildings and are deprived of socialisation,” he observed.

“Such children may attain good marks in academic results, but their social skills will not be properly developed,” said the mental health expert. “Lately, we have noticed that around 18 percent of such children, who spend most of their time indoors, are suffering from mental sicknesses -- either in one criterion or several criteria.”

Dozens of guardians, while talking to the agency, wished that that the authorities ensure playgrounds in all schools.