Awaiting repairs, rusty BMC park in Mankhurd poses threat to kids
MUMBAI: While ₹1,700 crore was allotted to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for the renovation and beautification of the city, the children of Mankhurd are spending their evenings dangerously in a rusty and broken-down park which is due for repair for the last two years.
The citizens near the area demand the park – the Lok Shahir Annabhau Sathe Udyan – be repaired and made usable. Amol Lalzare, a member of Video Volunteers – a media and human rights organisation – released their film on the park’s poor condition on Youtube and tagged the ward officer on Twitter in November. The ward, on November 24, forwarded the issue to the Gardens Department. However, it has not received any response.
When HT visited the park; the slides were broken, the gym equipment was either damaged or the parts were missing, the swings were old and almost everything in the park was not usable in some way or the other.
“The park is in such a bad state that kids can injure themselves because of broken equipment,” said Rajkumar Shinde, a local activist and founder of Maharashtra Matang Ekta Dal – a mass organisation representing the Matang community.
“I have requested several times to the BMC to fix it. It has completely ignored the issue. They keep saying they will fix it but they haven’t done anything about it,” he added. Shinde has written letters to the BMC since February 2020.
In March 2020, BMC responded to Rajkumar and said that they did not have funds for the repair and the matter will be taken up in the next financial year. Two years to that letter now, there has been no change in the park.
As part of the beautification project, all the wards were allotted ₹30 crore by the chief minister in September.
An official from the M-east ward of BMC said, “We did not have any funds to repair or maintain the park. In 2020, all funds were utilised for Covid. This year also the ward does not have a budget.”
He added that the park is now handed over to the Garden Infrastructure Cell (GIC), which is a central agency of BMC and takes up major repairs. “Six to seven months ago, GIC started to work on this and it will be handed back to the ward after the work is over,” the official added.
Assistant Commissioner of M-east ward, Mahendra Ubale refused to comment on the issue.
Dinesh Panjge, a resident representing the Republican Party of India (A) from the area, has also written to BMC asking them to fix the garden, however, BMC has not paid any heed to it.
“There are so many issues in the park. There is no grass or soil, there are pieces of glass lying on the ground and kids have got injured,” he said.
The youths in the locality drink alcohol in the park at night, Pangje added. There is no security guard as well. “BMC responded to my letter and said that they will begin work soon, but nothing has happened yet,” he added.
On October 31, HT reported about a ₹12 crore tender floated by the M-east ward of BMC for face-lifting of the ward and developing a clock tower.