Imagine you are a child and there is a tantalising open space near your home where you want to play all you want. And imagine the heartbreak when that public playground is part of a private institution which excludes residents of the area.
This is the current situation in Cox Town where the local people don't have a playground or a park.
Both the prominent playgrounds, owned by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), have been given on lease to Clarence High School and St. Aloysius group of institutions, both private educational undertakings.
Clarence High School, which is situated about one and a half kilometres from the playgrounds, has a ground on the school premises itself. Yet, it retains this ground, which is unused most of the time except for the annual sports day and related practice drills, residents say.
Boy dies
They pointed out that on September 3, an 11-year-old boy of the neighbourhood was run over by a train when he was playing in an open area near the railway track. Young J. Vineeth, despite living near two playgrounds, was fated to play in a dangerous zone, residents said.
The tragedy could have been avoided, pointed out N.S. Ravi, vice-president of the Student Union Football Club.
It is not just children who are deprived: senior citizens have nowhere to go for a walk or to congregate safely in a public space in the area.
Complaint
Residents say the educational institutions should allow them to use the playgrounds, technically public property, for a few fixed hours every day.
Their pleas to the Governor, Minister of State for Sports Gulihatti Shekar and Mayor S.K. Nataraj have met with a similar response.
‘We are entitled to it'
The heads of these educational institutions are defensive. “The corporation deed clearly states that it is a long-term lease and that it should be used only for schoolchildren. So, there is no question of allowing outsiders to play on this ground. The residents have vested interests,” said Fr. Anthony, Principal of St. Aloysius PU and Junior College.
Instead, he suggested that the residents use the East Grounds, where Vineeth lost his life, or the nearby Gymkhana Grounds. He alleged that miscreants indulge in theft and vandalism, further strengthening their resolve not to allow outsiders.
No response
There was no response from Clarence High School.
Meanwhile, though Councillor G. Bhubavneshwari was unavailable for comment, her husband Tulsi Ram said the school authorities were not open to negotiation.
For good measure, Mr. Tulsi Ram alleged: “Another two-acre playground was leased out in the same perpetual terms to the Indian Gymkhana Club. When the lease was renewed in the late 1990s, the club added an extra 2.5 acres to it.”
