BBMP beautifying 273 parks; 1135 completed; residents want them to do more!

According to BBMP Commissioner BH Anil Kumar, BBMP is trying to reclaim Bengaluru’s Garden City tag. According to him, there are 1408 parks and gardens being maintained by the civic body. “While 1135 of them have been fully developed, work is on to beautify 273 parks,” he tweeted to much plaudits.

Some more suggestions from citizens have come to the BBMP as well. Many have asked the civic body to reclaim, maintain or turn garbage dumps into parks and gardens. Like one space in BTM Layout that the residents want the BBMP to take over and turn into a lung space. The BTM Layout Residents Welfare Association of 1st Stage say that this place is next to the BBMP ward 172 office. “The ground is being misued for the past several years,” tweeted the association. “Though it belongs to BBMP, it has not been developed as a play ground for children.”

Similarly, Sumant N Tivary has requested the BBMP top brass to light up the park in between 2nd and 3rd main of Defence Colony in Indiranagar. “The park requires your attention; we would also like to have LED lights installed as this will discourage love birds from hanging around till late in the evening,” says Tivary.

Ganesha Prabhu of Ward 128 is asking the BBMP to expedite the work on Akkamahadevi park in Garden Vilas, Nagarbhavi, near BBMP PU Girls College and BBMP maternity hospital. “When will the renovation and beautification be complete?” asks Prabhu. “BBMP spoiled the entire beautiful park in the name of renovation, but work is still incomplete even after six months.”

Some residents have requested the BBMP to extend the park timings. Says Kanny: “Serious concern regarding parks closing their gates at 8:30pm which is when many people return home and go for a walk, for example Nandanavana in Mico Layout. Parks should be open from 5am till 10pm without restrictions.”

However, the BBMP and local residents do not want the park to remain open all day long as the caretakers need time to maintain the park, and the residents have to put up with prostitutes, gamblers and drunkards. In addition, thieves have used such lung spaces earlier to watch over houses and rob them at the slightest opportunity. In addition, lovers turn the public space into a PDA hotspot, embarrassing families and kids.

The problem with most parks is maintenance. Once the funds for the new project are exhausted, the upkeep suffers. If the residents or corporates have adopted it, then it’s fine. However, most are still under the BBMP, and the maintenance is an issue across the city. There are no funds for continued maintenance. One association, REWABE, in Cooke Town is conducting regular flea markets to collect funds for the parks it maintains.