Losing their little patches of green

DHENKANAL: Lush green parks in the midst of the concrete jungles urban people live in are a sight for sore eyes and provide a welcome relief for city residents. Parks are ideal places to get away from the madding crowd, for fitness freaks to get their daily fix of running, jogging or yoga, for laughter clubs to laugh their way to happiness and health, for kids to play, senior citizens to relax and couple to hold hands far from the prying eyes of the world.
At a time when most other cities are undertaking beautification and maintenance drives to preserve their patches of green, the Dhenkanal administration is letting the public parks in the town to go to the dogs.
Three major parks under the Dhenkanal Municipality are wallowing in neglect. The parks, which were, at some point of time in the past, serene, green getaways are now devoid of even basic maintenance and facilities. All three parks lack sufficient beautification measures and conservation of greenery, seating arrangements, play areas for children and are even fall short on cleanliness, electrification and safety and security measures.
Needless to say, due to continued government apathy over the last few years, the parks have lost their attraction for the public. Take the instance of Nehru Park near Gandhi Mandir Road in the heart of the town. The Park, which is situated on the bank of a big pond called Bhagirathi Sagar, is 30 years old. According to sources, even until a few years ago, hundreds of people used to throng the park premises every morning and evening to enjoy the green environs and fresh air. There were boating facilities in the pond.
But gone are the good days. The park is in so neglected and dirty that it does not even attract the routine crowd of morning-walkers and children. Its premises are strewn with filth and refuse in the absence of regular cleaning and the park lack electrification and drinking water.
Naturally, the citizens who live in the neighbourhood are very upset to lose their green retreat. Arbind Biswal, who used to be a regular visitor at the park says, "It's unsafe to visit the park in the evening as there are no lights. There isn't even any drinking water available there."
Besides, there is no play area with slides and swings for children. Most benches at Nehru Park are broken and park-goers have nowhere to sit and relax. The pathways are overgrown with weeds and plants, hindering smooth passage here. The park is overridden with wasp and bee hives, which often attack people.
Where the administration should be making efforts to conserve the natural beauty of the park, it cut down many big trees recently. The grassy area has turned into a grazing ground for stray cattle and all that is left of shrubs and plants are dry, twiggy skeletons - there is not a single flower in the park. The once-beautiful rose garden within the park looks like a barren desert.
Ashok Sahoo, a senior citizen who lives close to Nehru Park, said, "I used to frequent the park in the past but over the last few years, along with its clean and green environs, it has lost its appeal for me. It is really sad that the concerned authorities are not making any efforts to maintain the park and restore it to its former glory."
Children's Park, which is situated just 300 metre away from Nehru Park is in the same condition. Most of the swings here are broken. The park has become very unsafe as some anti-socials have chosen the place as their regular hangout and have drinking-cum-chat sessions here every day in the evening. As a result, people have stopped sending their children to play in the park. They are also very annoyed at the deterioration of the premises.
"Both Nehru Park and Children's Park are in a shambles. The kids' park, especially, has become very unsafe. So, we prefer to keep our children indoors in the evening. We have to let the kids entertain themselves by watching TV or playing videogames because there is not much space indoors for them to play. It's sad that our children are not able to play outdoors despite the presence of three parks in this town," said Pranati Pattnaik, a housewife.
Municipality executive officer Subash Jena admitted to the deplorable condition of Nehru Park and both the children's parks. "We have sent a proposal worth Rs 9 lakh for renovation work of Children's Park to the district collector, whereas beautification work of Nehru Park has just started," he said.
Another children's park near Balaram temple under Dhenkanal Regional Improvement Trust (DRIT) has been shut for the last six years. The park was inaugurated by former chief minister Janaki Ballav Pattnaik in October 1998. Though a number of swings that were installed in the park then still remain, they are barely functional due to years of neglect. The planned greenery has become an overgrown mess. According to sources, the park lost its greenery due to water scarcity. DRIT secretary Pravat Ku Jena admitted the park has been shut down because it is in a dilapidated condition. "We are planning to assess the spot and make an estimate for renovation of the park to be done shortly," said Jena.
A resident of Dhenkanal town, Biraja Kumar Tripathi, said the town needs a couple of bigger parks than existing ones, with better facilities and maintenance. "The population of the area that falls under the Dhenkanal Municipality has touched over 65,000. Where we need better, bigger parks, we are even losing the existing ones to neglect. There should be regular beautification and renovation of these parks," he said. The neglect reeks of irresponsible leadership and poor concern for recreational facilities of the administration, which really needs to get it act together, adds Tripathi.