PMC decks up roads, parks paint a sorry picture of city

Pune: Several parks in the city are in tatters, while the civic body’s garden department is spending crores on sprucing up flyovers and medians of roads in the run-up to the G20 Summit.
Several gardens of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) have rusty or damaged swings and slides, posing threat to children. Many of them are not well-maintained and encroachments outside some gardens make them almost inaccessible. Against this backdrop, PMC’s garden department has planned to spend around Rs5 crore on decorating the city before the mega event.
The additional municipal commissioner of Pune, Vikas Dhakane, said, “We have got about Rs50 crore from the state health department. Of it, we have allocated Rs5 crore for plantations along the road dividers, trimming trees, planting new trees and beautification across the city using plants. We want to put our best foot forward in front of our dignitaries.”
Appreciating the PMC’s attempt to present the city in its best form before the VIP guests, residents questioned its lack of interest in maintaining the civic-run gardens. Swapnil Pol from Mundhwa said, “There is hardly any place in the city where you can take your family and relax in the evening hours. Dr Lohiya Udyan in Hadapsar is one of the oldest gardens in the city, but its equipment are partially damaged. It is unsafe for children to play there. PMC had repaired some equipment a few months ago, but now they are in a bad shape again.”
Pol said, “The space outside the garden is often encroached upon by vendors. The idea of setting up small games’ stalls and eateries near the park is a good idea only when there is a dedicated space for visitors to enter the garden.”
Nitin Bhor from Keshavnagar said, “Having a garden at a walkable distance, say in 3km radius, is a necessity. Gardens are no longer a luxury. People need space to relax in the morning or evening hours. Gardens are an important green space of the city and should be spread out evenly.”
There is huge discrepancy in the number of gardens in PMC wards. The Hadapsar-Mundhwa ward — the largest in the city — has only 11 gardens, while the Yerawada-Dhanori-Kalas ward has over 21 gardens. The Dhankawdi-Sahakarnagar ward has over 19 gardens.