Dead body last straw as residents beg for fenced park
AN OPEN area that used to be a park in Verulam has become a haven for criminals, say Fir Close residents.
The discovery of a decomposed human body on Tuesday bears testament to this and has resulted in renewed calls to have the area fenced off.
In a neighbourhood meeting which City Watch attended, angry residents said the vacant land with its tall trees and surrounding dense bushes was a perfect hideout for criminals.
They said a series of meetings with Parks and Recreation officials and other city authorities resulted in their concerns not being addressed.
“The only suggestion coming out of those meetings was that we take the matter up with our ward councillor,” said Stanley Moonsamy.
He said many attempts had been made to contact the previous councillor, to no avail.
“So we humbly appeal to the new councillor to help us.”
Another resident Jeetesh Maharaj said in one meeting they had been advised that the city had set aside a R36 000 budget for the area to be fenced off, but this had not happened,
“People are getting mugged, and houses are being burgled,” said Maharaj.
An elderly resident, Reddy Gopal, added: “The children do not have a place to play in this area while we are having this nightmare.
“The ward councillor has never attended our meetings. He knows that we are suffering, but he has decided to turn a blind eye,” said Gopal.
Ward councillor Bongani Majola said he had attended to the residents’ issues and the contractor was already on site to fence off the area in question, which the city has declared a game reserve.
“Sometimes I could not attend residents’ special meetings because I had other pressing commitments.
“And when I call a meeting, some residents don’t bother to attend, which causes a breakdown in communication.”
Majola said the contractor started on Monday to fence off the area and the work would be completed in two months.
City spokesperson Mandla Nsele said the old playground is situated alongside a nature reserve and the dense bush, which falls within the reserve, could not be cut for environmental reasons.
He said ethekwini’s parks department cuts the grass in the open space regularly but there were some grass areas which had been left patchy after residents dug out sand, possibly for building purposes.
“This has left the area unsightly and residents have been warned about this.
“We are investigating the feasibility of fencing the area,” said Nsele.
He said in the past, park equipment had been stolen by unknown individuals.