The Herbal Park in Sector 3 is in a mess

Some time ago, the Herbal Park in Sector 3, behind the Sai Baba temple, was inaugurated with much fanfare by MLA Satish Reddy himself. However, the initial enthusiasm waned over time, and the tussle between who will take control of it led to its current dismal state where weeds have grown and it’s unwalkable at the moment. People are cautioned from stepping inside due to the presence of snakes by Madhu Krishna, one of the residents managing the park.

So what happened, really? Explains Madhu whose house is right opposite the park. He is not able to look after the garden along with his neighbour on a consistent basis, as it requires atleast Rs 10,000 a month to engage a gardener and maintain it. “I am just able to water it regularly, but that’s about it. And whenever we get the time, my wife and I try to remove the weeds.”

The residents allege that the tussle about who will take over the herbal park led to the current state of affairs. “The Sai Baba temple authorities wanted to take care of the garden, but the Sector 3 Residents Welfare Association said they would. However, the association has no money, and this is the state today,” said Madhu. If you would like to help or have any ideas for its survival, you can call Madhu at 98450-28623.

Residents Watch spoke to Prof Sadashiva, the president of the Sector 3 Residents Welfare Association about this. He contends that the temple went back on their promise to take care of the park. When we said that both the association and the Sai Baba temple authorities have been given BBMP approvals to maintain the garden, he said, “Yes, that is true. In the next association meeting, we will take a decision on this. We will only keep a person to maintain the park by putting in some money.” This was told to us in September 2018. So far, the association has done little to remedy the situation.