Lockdown effect? Hyderabad parks sport lush greenery

SECUNDERABAD: The lush greenery spread over at a sprawling park at Teachers’ Colony at East Marredpally, Secunderabad looks like a green carpet. Nearly 200 residents living in surrounding apartments used to walk in the park daily, but now, the footfall in the park has dipped sharply due to the lockdown.
Locals residents of another park situated at Nehru Nagar Colony in West Marredpally were impressed with birds chirping and the cool breeze, during summer, from their park. A similar environment can be found in 120 parks being maintained by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), North Zone wing.
Officials of Urban Biodiversity (UBD) wing of the civic body have analysed reasons for lush greenery in a wide range in these parks, and admitted that it was due to walkers from areas abutting to the parks staying at home due to the lockdown.
“As a result, the activity of morning and evening walking at these parks have been completely shut,” Maqsood Ali, deputy director of UBD wing, GHMC (North Zone) told TOI.
Hundreds of walkers, with their brisk walking and rubbing with shoes regularly damaged the green grass in these parks. Now, for the past two months, no such walking activity has taken place in these parks. “As a result, the lush greenery has spread over entire open areas,” Ali said.
Soon after the lockdown was announced, the GHMC shut all the parks at Secunderabad, Begumpet, Malkajgiri, Musheerabad, and Amberpet and restricted walkers. But, GHMC is maintaining the parks by watering the ornamental plants, bushes, lawns and other plants,” added the GHMC official.
“Due to round-the-clock vigilance at the parks, the parks are being protected from land sharks and no complaints on encroachments of park lands have been reported anywhere,” said the deputy director.
“All the infrastructure, like benches and child play equipment in the parks is safe and here have been no complaints of stealing at the 120 parks in North Zone,” said the GHMC official.