The Hindu 24.07.2009
Corporation roadside parks in dire need of rejuvenation
Deepa H Ramakrishnan
| Some of them are encroached upon or used by petty shops |
— Photo: K.V.Srinivasan 
left high and dry: A roadside park near the Madras High Court campus is one of those that need better care.
CHENNAI: Devoid of full greenery and littered with rubbish, several roadside parks in the city are in a bad shape. They are either encroached upon by the homeless or used by petty shops, or serve as storage space for locals.
Nearly 400 such facilities, most of which were developed in the last two years, are being maintained by the Chennai Corporation.
Parks on Thyagappa Street in Kilpauk, Frazer Bridge Road, near Madras High Court campus, Broadway, G.M. Petta Road in Royapuram, West Kalmandapam and Grace Garden 5th Lane are an eye-sore. Some of them are used to dry clothes. In several places, portions of the retaining walls have been damaged and tiles and iron grills missing.
S. Meena, councillor of ward 16, said that the facilities were in a pitiable condition as there was no separate maintenance wing team for the roadside parks.
“The maintenance responsibility is with the respective zones and as they have other pressing work to do, these are neglected,” she said.
A senior official of the Chennai Corporation said that these facilities were initially created to protect small pieces of property belonging to the civic body. They serve as lung space in localities where there are not many trees.
“The maintenance is with the respective zonal office. As the summer has been rather harsh this year, many plants have withered. We are now waiting for the rain so that fresh saplings can be planted. The rain will make the soil easier to dig and also cool it down,” he said.
Corporation Commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni said, “With the demand for footpaths increasing, several organisations that are concerned about pedestrian space have expressed dissatisfaction over such parks. In places where the facilities are obstructing free movement of pedestrians, we will be converting the parks into footpaths. Saplings are not being planted in many of those parks.”
