Copyright thehindu
P.S. Kumarasamy Raja Greenery Park in Rajapalayam town, that used to be the most sought-after destination for children and adults for playing and morning stroll, is in a state of ruin. Thanks to the lackadaisical attitude of the officials of Rajapalayam municipality. “The park would be teeming with a lot of children and their mothers every evening as the spacious place had a few play equipment like swings, see-saw and merry-go-round,” said a local resident, S. Saravanan. The artificial fountain was an additional attraction. The pavement around the park was used by the men and women, including elders, for their daily morning walk. The park that was established under the Amrut Scheme in 2015-16 in Ward 22 was renovated two years back. However, all the infrastructure and the tax-payers money spent to maintain it has been rendered useless after the municipal authorities allowed their cleanliness workers to park the garbage collecting vehicles inside the park. “After the workers started to park the garbage vehicles, slowly they started to dump bags of garbage inside the park,” complained Mr. Saravanan. As the park was filled with foul odour, gradually the children avoided it. So did the adults. The circular tank that houses the artificial fountain has stopped working. “However, the tank has turned into a breeding ground for mosquitoes and lakhs of larvae were found in it posing danger to the health of the people living in the vicinity,” he added. With frequent plying of garbage vehicles, even the pavements are in a damaged condition. Besides, it has become a den for consuming liquor after the dusk. Local councillor N. Rohini said that the park was used by children on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. However, when some civil works for toilet was carried out, it was left open and local people started to use it for parking vehicles. The cleanliness workers have stacked up plastic waste segregated from garbage inside the park, the councillor said. Mr. Saravanan wondered how could the Rajapalayam municipality,which is a pioneer in collection of taxes, could turn a blind eye in maintenance of an important infrastructure. “Greenery is only in the name of the park and it was not maintained. Even a huge tree that fell down few days back was yet to be removed from its premises,” he added. Rajapalayam Municipal Commissioner S. Nagarajan said that all efforts would be taken to bring back the park to its original condition. The garbage vehicles would be taken out. Some civil works in he area was pending which will help for better maintenance of the park, he said.
