With the nationwide lockdown having been imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) said it was having certain issues with maintenance of parks as only the gardeners and security staff living in close proximity to the parks were able to carry out the work.
While access to all parks under the urban body have been closed in a bid to prevent people from gathering there, senior DDA officials said that the threat of plants dying continued as all were not being taken care of regularly.
“The security guards and a couple of gardeners stay in close proximity to some of the parks. So they are the ones who are looking after the parks these days. No deployment as such has been done for this purpose,” said a senior DDA official.
The official added that restrictions on transport was resulting in several of the staff not being able to reach the designated parks.
“The gardeners, who were trying to reach the parks, have been stopped by policemen on several occasions. Then we arranged for letters which mentioned they are associated with essential services, under relevant clauses. We are also not forcing anyone to come. All payments will be made. The plants, however, will be at a risk of dying, if not maintained regularly,” the official added.
