https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/underutilised-parks-in-tiruchi-draw-ire-of-residents/article35977788.ece
The Hindu 19.08.2021
TIRUCHIRAPALLI
TIRUCHIRAPALLI
Neglect of parks rankles residents
The Corporation park at Aruna Nagar in Srirangam in Tiruchi on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: M. SRINATH
C. Jaisankar
TIRUCHI 18 AUGUST 2021 18:06 IST
UPDATED: 19 AUGUST 2021 08:27 IST
Tiruchi Corporation Commissioner promises to study the issue in detail
Public parks lying in disuse in different parts of the city have raised concern among residents.
Until 2017, the city had a few parks. Ibrahim Park on West Boulevard Road, Gandhi Park in Srirangam and Parangiri Velupillai Park in Cantonment were among those that attracted elders and children in particular. Most of them were established before the merger of Srirangam and Golden Rock municipalities with Tiruchi municipality in 1994 for creation of Tiruchi Corporation.
The civic body shifted its focus to establishing public parks and open gyms in 2017. Besides utilising its own fund, it sourced funds from Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUIT) and Smart City Mission for creating public parks.
The availability of many of its own sites and those recorded as playgrounds by layout promoters made the task easier for officials to set up public parks. The Corporation, which foresaw all sites vulnerable to encroachments, paid attention to converting them into public parks and roadside gyms. At a point in time, at least two parks were thrown open to the public once a month.
According to sources, there are about 125 parks in all four zones of the city. Right from playing equipment for children, the parks had many facilities for people of all walks of life. Some of them had open air amphitheaters to screen entertainment shows and promotional and recreational short movies to engage the visiting public. The illuminated and decorated parks, indeed, received a good response from the public in the initial stages. Almost all of them were regularly opened to the public in the morning and evening There were arrangements in place to maintain the parks.
But, the parks had to be closed for about five months in 2020 due to imposition of lockdown in March and more than two months in 2021 after a surge in COVID-19 cases in May. Though the restrictions were lifted partially, it is alleged that except for parks in main thoroughfares, several of those in interior places are not being regularly opened to the public. In the absence of caretakers, it is said there has been wild growth of bushes.
“It is disheartening to know the underutilisation of parks for several months. The benefits of parks must be passed on fully to the public. They should not be kept without a proper maintenance mechanism for long. Ways and means should be found out to carry out periodic maintenance,” says M.A. Aleem, member, Tiruchi Welfare Committee.
Corporation Commissioner P.M.N. Mujibur Rahuman, who assumed office recently, told The Hindu that he would study the issue in detail. All parks would be brought to use and a system put in place to carry out periodic maintenance..
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