Where children fear to tread

The park on Cowley Brown Road does not serve its purpose

Dumped debris, broken see-saw wooden planks, chained swings make up a portion of the children's park that is on Cowley Brown Road. The area comes under Ward 23.

Under the care of a service organisation, the park has not been serving the purpose, alleges Councillor S. Manimeghalai.

“The children of the area do not get to use the facilities when they want to. The watchman closes the gates around 5.30 p.m., which is the time the parents take the children to the park.”

‘After children return from school, they rest for a while, have their snack and proceed to the park only to find the watchman closing the gates. This is unfair given the facts that it is the only children's park available in the area and there is no other open place available for the children to play.”

Besides, the service organisation has not maintained the park. It has no lights, is not clean and, in short, not usable. It has no water connection, either, the Councillor adds.

The lack of park affects the middle class more, says R. Siva Senthil, who runs a hostel in the area.

With government quarters, the number of such families are more and they have no where to go. The nearest alternative facility is on Bharathi Park Road.

He says that the park has been in this disused state for over three years and adds that the 45-minute duration the watchman provides in the evenings – between 5 and 5.45 – is not enough. “It is not the way to run a children's park.”

Following representations from the residents the Councillor raised the issue at the Corporation's West Zone meeting and demanded that the Corporation take up the children's park maintenance and ensure that the facility was available round the clock to the people.

In his response, Mayor S.M. Velusamy said that the Corporation had enough funds to maintain the park and would takeover the same from the service organisation, if it found to be poorly maintained.

He also asked an officer in-charge of West Zone to inspect the park and submit a report.

Sources in the civic body say that the Mayor is likely to take a decision on the civic body taking over the park's maintenance.