Whither Rs 45 lakh park?

Whither Rs 45 lakh park?
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: A park spread across an acre of land in Sanjaynagar that cost the Corporation a whopping Rs 45 lakh, and was inaugurated with much fanfare three years ago by the then MLA of Ramnagaram, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, now wears a withered look.

Residents blame the department for the dismal state of Sanjaynagar park. Says president of Sanjaynagar Residents’ Welfare Association Satyamurthy. “The huge park that was frequented by at least 500 to 600 people a day, is now in a sorry state due to lack of water. The borewell that was used to water the plants dried up three months back and the local horticulture superintendent Anjanappa is to be blamed,” he said.

Satyamurthy complains that when Anjanappa knew the bore well was not functioning, he should have informed the higher authorities about it. “In fact the deputy conservator of Forests Udupudi Krishna was unaware of the situation until we informed him. Now the plants have dried up so badly that they cannot even be rejuvenated,” he adds.

Even the ex-corporator of Sanjaynagar, Venkatesh M, during whose tenure the park was inaugurated, has complained to the BBMP but no alternative measure has been taken to reinstall water supply to the park.

As a result of this, the greenery in the park has turned yellow. Mexican grass, a rare variety that was used for the lawns in the park has also wilted beyond retrieval. The grass is said to be expensive to procure and difficult to maintain and usually grows to form a thick bed. Anjanappa, however justifies that the bore well dried up just 15 days back.

“We have been watering the plants by getting water in tankers. The Corporation will dig up another point soon,” he promises. Udupudi Krishna also assured that the new bore well would be dug within the next eight days and added that the authorities were finding it difficult to maintain the park since it was too big.

Ironically, just a few meters away from the Sanjaynagar park is another park that is lush and green. Well, that park is maintained by residents of Sanjaynagar!