Ground realities

Elected representatives of Vile Parle East seem too concerned about the health of the residents of their area, as they are going overboard in providing joggers track, wherever possible. This ’concern’ is not going down well with the residents, who have raised a protest against the track and railings around some playgrounds.
Raising the issue of a playground near Shahaji Raje Municipal High School, a visibly upset Ajit Pitale, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) activist questions, "Why take away the little space that’s left for children to play? As it is, we do not have enough grounds where children can play outdoor games, and now vested interests are converting the existing ones into jogger’s track." Pitale is quick to question the need to include a track and railing at the playground, when the area already had three gardens, including the huge park, Prabodhankar Thakeray Municipal Garden, which was constructed using crores of funds, and Sawarkar Udyan near Sun City Theatre.Pitale and some like-minded residents have grouped to form a Maidan Bachao Samiti.
Rajendra Korgavkar, a local MNS activist informed that a similar situation existed at Vaman Mangesh Dubhashi Maidan on Nehru Cross Road also. "This is one of the biggest playground in Parle, and is frequented by hundreds of children. The railings and the track take away space from the ground," he informs.
Namdeo Salian also raised up another issue stating, "The railing used to barricade the tracks from the ground were risky, as children playing and running could get seriously hurt if they banged into it." Seconding his opinion, Datta Name questioned the need of the railings. "It cannot prevent a cricket ball from hitting the person walking on the track, so what’s the railing doing here?" he asks.
The members of Maidan Bachao Samiti are also planning to initiate investigation against local politicians, who have built gymnasium, Balwadis, Citizen Welfare Centres and other structures on playgrounds for local residents, but were being used for purposes other than what they were set up for.