Bengaluru: Civic activists fear Freedom Park will soon turn into an open toilet

BENGALURU: With the high court restricting all protests and demonstrations in the city to Freedom Park, civic activists are worried about the condition of the prominent lung space in the heart of Bengaluru. Their concern: Lack of functional toilets, sanitation facility and staff to keep it clean. They fear that Freedom Park and areas nearby will soon become one big open toilet if its degradation isn’t checked.
“The 22-acre park has 10 toilets, but they are out of order for the past couple of weeks as there is none to maintain them. This has happened because people who were hired to maintain the place weren’t paid on time,” said Gandsi Sadanand Swamy, president of the Save Freedom Park Struggle Committee. “Also, the lights haven’t been replaced for long. Funds get sanctioned every year, but somehow the contractors don’t complete the work, saying they haven’t been paid on time,” he added.
There are no security personnel or people to maintain the place. During protests, thousands of people come here and 10 washrooms don’t suffice, Swamy added.
“The park is also open to walkers in the evenings. A couple of days ago, a sanitary pipe connected to the toilets broke and sewage overflowed on to the paths. It has not been fixed since,” Swamy rued.
M Lokesh, BBMP chief engineer for major projects, said: “We are currently constructing 31 toilets for protestors at Freedom Park — 18 for women, 12 for men and 1 for the specially abled. This apart, there will be 18 urinals for men. Most of these are ready, we are waiting for the work on the sanitary line to be completed. The toilets will soon be open to the public.”
Citizens, however, say the entire park hasn’t been maintained for a while.
Sharath SR, head of operations, B.Pac, a group of eminent Bengalureans, said: “The greenery is being maintained. However, none of the structures or buildings within the premises has been take care of. Cracks are visible on some structures and the doors of some others are broken. The civic body is always allocating funds to start new projects, but it rarely allocates money for maintenance of existing spaces.”
Citizens who were involved in the development of Freedom Park are shocked by the poor standards of maintenance. Nisha Mathews of Mathews and Gosh Architects, which was in charge of Freedom Park’s development, said, “It is heartbreaking to see how poorly the place has been maintained. Buildings have to be maintained, if they aren’t, they will eventually start giving away. It is a public-public space, not a private-public space like a mall.”
Revathy Ashok, managing trustee, B.Pac said, “This was inaugurated in 2009. In the last 12 years what maintenance works has the BBMP carried out? When was it last painted? When did anyone check to see if the buildings needed repair? The auditorium inside too hasn’t been maintained. Performance spaces are so few in the city. The city is eager to build infrastructure, but never eager to maintain it.”