GURUGRAM: Early morning Leisure Valley Park, Sector 29. Plodding alongside a muddy monitor, O P Dahiya (68) pauses unexpectedly and snarls at a bunch of boys enjoying soccer. “Get out of right here,” he shouts, catching the lads through wonder.
One extra rebuke, and so they roll up their jerseys in their arms and depart solemnly.
“This is regimen,” laughs a breathless Dahiya. “I've to force them away like this each day. They can’t play right here. It’s a public park — the only actually giant one in the city.”
Dahiya heads Leisure Valley Park Sudhar Samiti, a welfare workforce that campaigns for the park’s restoration. The 38-acre park occupies an outsize position in Gurugram’s public life. It has played host to international artistes like Akon. Fans have additionally streamed in to look at are living live shows of Atif Aslam, Arijit Singh and Diljit Dosanjh. Most recently, it served as venue for Canadian rock celebrity Bryan Adams’ concert in India. In 2016, Gurugram’s first pride parade was additionally held right here.
But previous this 12 months, it hogged the headlines after its identify was modified. Since August, the park is known as Maharana Pratap Swarn Jayanti Park. Over a 12 months in the past, HSVP — then called Huda — relinquished its jurisdiction over the park, allowing GMDA to take over. “But since then, our woes have redoubled,” Dahiya said. “The park is affected by neglect and mismanagement. The boys who play soccer right here sneak in thru broken boundary partitions.”
Dahiya accompanied this reporter for a walk around the park. There have been sinkholes in the mud, in which guests unintentionally found their ft trapped and struggled to drag them out. At many places, earth were dug out, spoiling the park’s attractiveness. Tiles on the tracks had come off. Rusting fountains weren’t functioning. A market adjacent to the park had positioned its diesel gensets such that their polluted exhaust blew directly into the park. Amid all this stands a statue of Maharana Pratap, giving guests on the lookout for a photo-op a background worthy for his or her selfies.
“The park receives round 1,000 guests an afternoon,” Prashant Yadav, who lives in Sector 29 and comes right here to walk steadily, said. “Most guests are from nearby areas like DLF, South City, Sushant Lok, sectors 14, 15 and 17. There isn't any sanitation, and water pumps are kaput.”
Many neighbours who walk alongside the park’s outer edge, expressed concern about its condition. “I used to be there all day throughout Christmas,” said Dinesh Aggarwal, who lives in Sector 14.
“Hundreds of children had come to play, however the park’s condition was hideous.”
Aggarwal said while Gurugram recently got an impressive ranking at the Open Defecation Free score, squatters dwelling adjacent to the park can often be noticed defecating in or across the park.
“The outside gymnasium inaugurated in 2016 is now crumbling, with a abnormal rubbish unload nearby. We have noticed only one sweeper, who arrives once in five days to swipe the outer perimeter.”
GMDA officials instructed TOI they are redeveloping the park. “Renovation is lately in progress,” said Rajbir Singh, consultant and head, urban atmosphere division, GMDA. “We’re already widening the slender pedestrian tracks, and redeveloping concrete paths, besides civil upkeep and horticulture that’s already under means. We’re expediting the work.”
They additionally said the park has over two dozen gardeners and Eight-9 security guards.
“We’ll restart the fountains, but before that, we need the water works division to check the water and notice the water doesn’t comprise chemicals that would possibly have an effect on plant or animal life,” he said.
One extra rebuke, and so they roll up their jerseys in their arms and depart solemnly.
“This is regimen,” laughs a breathless Dahiya. “I've to force them away like this each day. They can’t play right here. It’s a public park — the only actually giant one in the city.”
Dahiya heads Leisure Valley Park Sudhar Samiti, a welfare workforce that campaigns for the park’s restoration. The 38-acre park occupies an outsize position in Gurugram’s public life. It has played host to international artistes like Akon. Fans have additionally streamed in to look at are living live shows of Atif Aslam, Arijit Singh and Diljit Dosanjh. Most recently, it served as venue for Canadian rock celebrity Bryan Adams’ concert in India. In 2016, Gurugram’s first pride parade was additionally held right here.
But previous this 12 months, it hogged the headlines after its identify was modified. Since August, the park is known as Maharana Pratap Swarn Jayanti Park. Over a 12 months in the past, HSVP — then called Huda — relinquished its jurisdiction over the park, allowing GMDA to take over. “But since then, our woes have redoubled,” Dahiya said. “The park is affected by neglect and mismanagement. The boys who play soccer right here sneak in thru broken boundary partitions.”
Dahiya accompanied this reporter for a walk around the park. There have been sinkholes in the mud, in which guests unintentionally found their ft trapped and struggled to drag them out. At many places, earth were dug out, spoiling the park’s attractiveness. Tiles on the tracks had come off. Rusting fountains weren’t functioning. A market adjacent to the park had positioned its diesel gensets such that their polluted exhaust blew directly into the park. Amid all this stands a statue of Maharana Pratap, giving guests on the lookout for a photo-op a background worthy for his or her selfies.
“The park receives round 1,000 guests an afternoon,” Prashant Yadav, who lives in Sector 29 and comes right here to walk steadily, said. “Most guests are from nearby areas like DLF, South City, Sushant Lok, sectors 14, 15 and 17. There isn't any sanitation, and water pumps are kaput.”
Many neighbours who walk alongside the park’s outer edge, expressed concern about its condition. “I used to be there all day throughout Christmas,” said Dinesh Aggarwal, who lives in Sector 14.
“Hundreds of children had come to play, however the park’s condition was hideous.”
Aggarwal said while Gurugram recently got an impressive ranking at the Open Defecation Free score, squatters dwelling adjacent to the park can often be noticed defecating in or across the park.
“The outside gymnasium inaugurated in 2016 is now crumbling, with a abnormal rubbish unload nearby. We have noticed only one sweeper, who arrives once in five days to swipe the outer perimeter.”
GMDA officials instructed TOI they are redeveloping the park. “Renovation is lately in progress,” said Rajbir Singh, consultant and head, urban atmosphere division, GMDA. “We’re already widening the slender pedestrian tracks, and redeveloping concrete paths, besides civil upkeep and horticulture that’s already under means. We’re expediting the work.”
They additionally said the park has over two dozen gardeners and Eight-9 security guards.
“We’ll restart the fountains, but before that, we need the water works division to check the water and notice the water doesn’t comprise chemicals that would possibly have an effect on plant or animal life,” he said.
No time for Leisure? Park losing its face
![No time for Leisure? Park losing its face]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
December 28, 2018
Rating:
