The Hindu    26.07.2012

Residents urge Corpn. to maintain park

Needs facelift:Ward 15 residents want the Coimbatore Corporation to
maintain the park in Aishwarya Colony, which in the recent past has had
no maintenance. —PHOTO: S. SIVA SARAVANAN

 The Coimbatore Corporation-constructed park in Aishwarya
Colony, P.N. Pudur, is hardly a year old. It does not appear so,
though. Patches of green grass that were laid as part of the landscaping
efforts, remain attached to the earth to indicate how good the park
would have been when it was inaugurated.

Unregulated
growth of shrubs, lights that do not glow and wilting ornamental plants –
all add to the aged look of the park, which the Corporation threw open
to the public in May 2011. Then the area came under Ward 59.

The
then Ward Councillor R. Kalyanasundaram says that he mooted a proposal
for the park at the locality as the residents did not have any
recreation facility. The reserve site served as an ideal place for a
park. And the civic body developed the ‘Jeeva Nutrandu Ninaivu Poonga’
at an approximate cost of Rs. 9 lakh.

Now the park
serves the residents in the mornings and till sunset in the evenings.
After sunset, the residents find it difficult to use the park as the
lights do not glow, complains P. Velusamy, a resident.

The residents make use of the walkers’ path to exercise regularly. And the children play for a while in the evenings.He
says that the park is not being put to effective use and the
Corporation or the contractor who has taken it on contract have not
appointed a caretaker or watchman.As a result, the park remains open and in the absence of light in the evenings, also serves as a good place for tipplers.

The residents want the Corporation to immediately repair the faulty lights and appoint a person to water the plants.Ward
15 Councillor N. Prabavathy says that she has asked the contactor to
repair the faulty lights at the earliest. She also says that efforts are
on to water the plants, remove the shrubs and keep it under lock and
key when the residents do not use it.