Deccan Chronicle 27.01.2011
Corporation’s much-hyped green revolution bites dust
January 27th, 2011Jan. 26: The Chennai Corporation may have begun a green revolution of sorts by developing parks, traffic islands, medians and even covering the space underneath flyovers, but civic activists point out that the enthusiasm in developing these spaces is not being seen in its maintenance.
“At the Edapalayam Park in division 49 for instance, a board declares that cattle should not be tied here or brought to the park’s vicinity. But the place is filled with cattle.
Garbage is also dumped there keeping people away from the park. This is the scene in most parks just 10 to 15 days after it was opened as the corporation has failed to appoint watchmen to look after these places,” said B. Prakash Jain, general secretary of Nungambakkam Exnora Circle. According to him, parks in areas like Sowcarpet, Egmore, Royapettah and Kodambakkam suffer a similar fate.
“Maadi Poonga is the biggest example of the civic body disowning a public park after spending a huge amount of money for its development,” said Salim H., a shopkeeper nearby.
“The Poonga, which is an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) protected monument, was landscaped, the walkers’ path relaid and a water supply system at a cost `7.5 lakh. Visit it anytime and you will hardly be able to see people except for a few men playing cards. The grass inside as well as the bushes outside are overgrown and the wall is in dire need of painting.”
“One secluded spot in the park has now turned into a safe place for drunkards and for people to dump garbage,” he said.
S. Subramanian, a social activist living in George Town, pointed to the pitiable state of water bodies in the parks. “The water is not cleaned regularly and within a short period it becomes dirty allowing mosquitoes to breed. There is no point in wasting taxpayers money, if the civic body cannot not maintain the parks they develop,” Mr Subramanian said.
