Once a popular green spot in Koramangala, the National Games Village (NGV) park now looks dry and dusty, with dried bushes lining the roads outside. Residents say that the park has not been watered for the last two months and, in the absence of security personnel, has become a spot for illegal activities at night.
"The park has not been watered for two months. A tanker was brought in on Saturday but only a portion of the park was watered. The greenery is withering and the grass has completely dried," said Priyanka Singh, a resident of NGV Complex. Across the park, saplings of flowering plants planted on a small plot have been drying in the hot sun. "I have been watering them when I can so that they don't die," said Ms. Singh.
Another resident, P.Y. Vinayanan, said that the lack of security is a major issue as the entire traffic from the main road is diverted through NGV Complex. "This park is the only recreation space for residents of NGV and nearby areas," he said.
Ramnath A.R., manager of NGV Central Association, which earlier maintained the park, said that the gardeners had quit after not being paid wages for months. "Block-wise associations have stopped giving maintenance money and the NGV Central Association was unable to handle maintenance, which is why the park was handed over to the BBMP," he explained.
"The number of guards in the complex has gone down from eight to five," he added.
"There have been instances of chain snatching and mugging inside the park due to the lack of security," said Ms. Singh.
Rainwater harvesting systems, which had been installed years ago, have fallen into disuse and the catchment drains are blocked with garbage.
According to Niranjan D.M., Horticulture Superintendent for south zone, BBMP, the delay in maintenance is due to confusion over the date of handover. According to him, BBMP had taken over the park on April 1. Secondly, it is not possible to water the plants as borewells had dried up. "On Saturday, I got a tanker as there was no water in the borewells," he said. Referring to the lack of maintenance and security, he promised that three or four guards would be posted by May 1 and two more would be deployed by May 10.
20 parks facing water shortage
Mr. Niranjan said that apart from the park in the NGV Complex, around 20 other parks in south zone are facing water shortage. "We have to scrounge for water and employ tankers to supply water to these parks during summers as borewells are dry," he added.
