Gurgaon: The park that was...

What’s a park without greenery? A barren land. And the park in Sector 14 has started to resemble one.

Forget about greenery, it lacks even basic facilities, such as seating arrangements, functional lights and a steady water supply. The outcome: The footfall, which was 500 even a year back, has now plummeted to 100. With a lack of perennial plants, the park almost always wears a barren look. To make things worse, there’s no way to water the existing trees and plants.

RWA president Dinesh Agarwal says that they have been taking care of the park as far as possible, but they need support from the civic authorities to improve the experience further.  

Kanhaiya Lal Garg, 70, a regular visitor to the park for the past 20 years, complains to City Spidey, “People had to rush home if they needed to use the toilet. So last year, residents contributed more than a lakh to get two toilets constructed inside the park. One is already functional, and we are paying from our pockets to maintain it. But it gets difficult to pay for two cleaners.”

Furthermore, every year, three to four cases of chain snatching have been reported from a particular corner of the park due to defunct lights. So again, the RWA stepped in and got two mercury lights installed.

The visitors also want a PCR van to be deployed in front of the park.

Another visitor, Shiv Raj, said, “Lack of security is a major concern, as one guard cannot look after the entire park that is spread around a radius of 1 km. In the evenings, young boys come here and get drunk, often leading to unnecessary brawls. There’s a dedicated playground for children, but they play everywhere, spoiling the already-dry and scanty grass.”

Residents also complain of a huge pile of garbage just outside the park that leads to unbearable stench in the mornings.

Earlier, HUDA was responsible for the maintenance of the park, but now, it has been transferred to MCG.

Visitors are optimistic about the shift and feel the situation might improve.