DDA had chosen five sectors in which to develop play areas in parks. It's been almost six years now, but has there been any development?
DDA’s 2012 project to develop play areas in Dwarka’s parks has been touted as one of its most ambitious. But, standing on the brink of 2018, when we ask what happened to it, we are faced with only pictures of administrational apathy.
Take the park in Sector 5, for instance. This is what it looks like.
You can see the DDA signboard, but do you see any play area development anywhere?
It’s been almost six years, and there has been zero development here. This park — located behind the Central School of Sector 5 and surrounded by societies such as the DDA SFS Flats, Vivekanand Apartments, Ganinath Nikunj Apartments and Lovely Home Apartments — sits barren and dusty, with a few broken swings and benches scattered around.
A resident of Lovely Home Apartments, Vishal Gupta, said, “I remember when, back in 2012, there were five such parks chosen to be tunred into play areas. But things never moved from there. Those in sectors 22 and 23 are still developed, but the other three are still just on paper.”
DDA officials informed City Spidey that sectors 5, 11 and 12 were the other three areas chosen for the development.
One of them, on condition of anonymity, said, “Yes, play areas were planned, but they got lost amid the files and paperwork of senior officials. The staff on ground level are too aware of these projects. Yes, things can take off, but only ig the higher officials take an interest in it.”
This is a sad state of affairs, indeed, given that sports enthusiasts in the sub-city could have benefited from these play areas. Even now, even in the state of barrenness the parks are in, children use these for football and cricket practice. Imagine how much better it would be for them if they actually had the infrastructure to support them.
