Residents of cooperative group housing societies in Mayur Vihar Phase I Extension have started to raise questions about the wisdom of setting up an open gymnasium in a DDA park, when no one knows who's responsible for its maintenance.
The park is surrounded by more than 10 housing societies.
The open gym was inaugurated by East Delhi MP Mahesh Giri about two months back. As many as 14 machines were set up. Of them, a couple have already been damaged.
Residents are now uncertain about who is to repair the broken equipment — more importantly, who’s to bear the cost.
Sharad Sharma, who lives in one of the housing societies, took to Mahesh Giri’s Facebook page to seek answers on five fronts.
Here’s what he asked:
- Did the MP consult the local residents or the RWA before installing the gym in the park?
- What processes were followed in buying the equipment — how much money was spent and from where?
- What’s the plan to guard and maintain these machines?
- How much money has been allocated for the maintenance of these machines in the long term?
- Why were the gym machines installed on un-cemented platforms, since they become unusable during monsoons when [the park] gets waterlogged?
Talking to City Spidey, Sharma said, “I have asked these questions, as the work was carried out using public money. Hence, an MP should certainly be able to tell how much money was allocated and what the plan is for future maintenance.”
Sharma said he would wait for 10 days for answers. After that, he added, he would raise the same questions through a Right to Information (RTI) application.