These gardens are out of play

After a 6-year-old was injured while playing on public park slide, Mirror took stock of these spaces; here, the equipment are lying in a decrepit state, posing a risk to the children

On December 24, 2018, a six-year-old boy injured his toe while playing on slide at a garden in Pimpri-Chinchwad. The mishap has now raised a host of questions pertaining to these public spaces in the city. Are these parks — meant to be joyful escapades for young ones — safe enough for children to lose these inhibitions?

The answer is, however, not very hopeful with Pune’s parks painting a worn out picture. Complaints have poured in from citizens over their condition, broken equipment and toys, even as they were renovated just over a year and yet, nothing concrete has transpired with regards to maintenance. When Mirror visited these parks to take stock of the situation, the team founds that several slides were broken in a manner that a kid could easily topple. Some even bore huge holes pervading the risk of injuries — all this, despite the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) inaugurating play areas and open gyms from its coffers.

This dilapidated picture does not augur well with the parents, who regularly take their children out in the evenings. For instance, Yogest Dighe, a resident of Deccan who visits Sambhaji Garden with his children, said, “Many toys are broken to the extent that children can easily take a fall. I make it a point to follow them to avoid these impending mishaps. While the old slides are in a dire state, the newly opened play area and the gym is no different. The toys and equipment here are broken, too.”

Concerned parents like Mukesh Wadkar from Hadapsar have even lodged multiple grievances with the garden department, but to no avail. Wadkar is a frequent visitor at a park in Sasane Nagar, where the play area is in a rickety shape. “Despite complaining to the PMC officials a week ago, no one has bothered with the repairs. Also, the prime Lohiya Garden in the same area is in a more decrepit state. The equipment and toys are broken in a way that they scream injuries. We need to be careful when we take our kids out to play. Who will take the responsibility if an injury occurs?” he said.

Harideo Ray, a resident of Shivaji Nagar area, had similar gripes. He takes his two kids out to garden nearby where the slides are not in a good shape. “The number of gardens and play areas in the city are already less. And here too, the existing equipment is broken. I do not let my children play near these risky spaces. However, considering the less number of options, we are left with no choice,” he said.

These complaints, Ashok Ghorpade, head of the garden department, said are very few. However, he added that they regularly inspect and repair the broken equipment with a streamlined tendering process in place for the same. “The in-house repairs are sorted within two-three days. If we have to take the company concerned into picture, then it takes time. Children’s safety is one of our prime concerns and we do take the complaints seriously. Anyways, the number of such grievances is low,” he said.

Nonetheless, when Mirror visited a few gardens in the city — to see their condition first hand — it turned out that the parents’ plaints indeed bore some weight.

SAMBHAJI GARDEN

Located on Jangli Maharaj Road and favoured by citizens, this garden is divided into four designated sections for children. Three of these areas lay in a battered state with equipment lying in a questionable state. For instance, the connecting bridge on a slide has been broken since past few weeks and was initially tied up with a piece of cloth. This makeshift holding has been removed as well, due to which, the barrier on the bridge has now acquired a slant on one side, leaving a gap between the bar and the bridge. Other things like the rope-climbing net had holes in several spots and the fibre stepping discs were broken. At the open gym, the stepper of the elliptical machine had come off.

SCIENCE PARK, NANA NANI GARDEN

This Shukruwar Peth park was renovated in 2017 from the funds allocated by guardian minister Girish Bapat at a staggering sum of Rs 20 lakh. The children play area was converted into a science park, where the experiment apparatus and other toys are now lying in a tumbledown state. The ones that were marvelled by everybody in the beginning for their innovative value, have gone missing. On the Barton pendulum game, the chains are folded on the bar and the pendulums, which were supposed to be attached to them, are nowhere to be found. The periodic table that was pasted above one of the game has completely come off. The discs from one of the games were also missing. All the toys were also covered with a lot of mud.

MAHATMA PHULE GARDEN


It has been merely a year that this public space was constructed in Sasane Nagar, Hadapsar, with installation of equipment still ongoing. Of the apparatus that was set up in the beginning by the garden department officials, most of it has been out of use. The merry-go-round is broken and cannot be used to play. The swing next to it is untended. All of these non-operational elements combined, children are left with nothing to play with. This condition, according to the residents, has been conveyed to the PMC on numerous occasions, but no action has been taken.

KAMLA NEHRU PARK


This famed Prabhat Road garden is in a better condition compared to others, however, it has its own share of snags. For instance, the swing in the toddlers’ play area was broke. The merry-goround was titled, from where children could fall down.

VARTAK GARDEN

Located in Narayan Peth, a swing from this park has been broken and hanging from bar for a while now. From a distance, it seemed as if it was in a functioning condition. However, it was only when we neared this equipment that we saw its reality.