A park inside Kochhar Panchasheel, a gated community with 430 families, opposite Ambattur Industrial Estate bus terminus on Chennai-Tiruvallur High (CTH) Road, is a source of concern for many residents. They allege that some people hang out at the facility and use it as an open bar. The park was inaugurated three years ago. These residents have asked the Zone-7 (Ambattur) officials to hand over the maintenance of the park to them. They say that they would introduce strict timings for visitors.
Located on CTH Road between Ambattur Telephone Exchange junction and the bus terminus, the park was built by the Corporation on an Open Space Reservation (OSR) Land provided by the gated community. Initially, residents of the gated community as well as employees of various industrial units in Ambattur and Pattaravakkam visited the park regularly. The park, which is being maintained by Corporation, has a separate space for children with play equipment. Besides, it has a tiled walkers’ path, water taps and separate toilets for men and women. Corporation officials use the office room at the entrance of the facility.
“For many months, the park has become a den for anti-social elements due to poor maintenance. We are ready to take up the maintenance of the park, provided the Corporation is willing to hand it over to us. We can take care of the basic amenities at the park, including deployment of security personnel,” says A. Santhosh, secretary, Kochhar Panchasheel Residents Welfare Association.
The park, spread across an acre, comes under Ward 85 of Ambattur zone. It has three gates, including a revolving gate. Except for the revolving gate, the gates are rusty and locked. Overgrown bushes along the tiled pathway provide a cosy home for many reptiles, especially during monsoon. Parents are apprehensive of allowing their children to walk on the pathway due to the presence of reptiles, which have been sighted on the pathway by visitors on many occasions. In the children’s play area, the swings are missing. Stray dog menace, damaged water taps and toilets and lack of security personnel at the park force visitors to head to CTH Road for walking, rather than using the walkers’ path. “We will take a decision on handing over the maintenance of the park to the residents, only after we get a representation from them,” says a Corporation official.
