The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Playground or garbage dump?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 06, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Playground or garbage dump?

By Dennis Marcus Mathew

HYDERABAD, MAY 5. Residents of Marredpally have examples of both progress and retreat in their area, one in the form of the beautiful park, a little ahead of the North Zone DCP's office, which was once a boorish haven for anti-social elements; the other in the Teacher's Colony, which was once a pleasant sight, but one which has literally gone to the dogs now.

The park and playground in the Teacher's Colony is anything but what it is called. One end of the compound wall has crumbled, while the iron grills atop the cement wall in other places are rusting and, at places, are twisted out of shape.

On the premises, in one corner lies a heap of mangled metal, which were swings and slides for children in their better days. The entire area has two sections, one that is slightly on a higher plane than the other. The higher plane is more polluted with plastic bags of garbage, plastic bottles and other litter lying strewn all over. Greenery here, if you want to see it, has to be seen in the mind's eye.

The playground? Full of holes left by wedding shamianas, leftovers of marriage feasts, boulders used as makeshift stoves by both wedding chefs and beggars and, to top it all, a foundation stone which stands tall in the middle of the ground, announcing the Municipal Corporation's intentions to develop a park on the premises. The intentions, so far, have remained on the stone.

"That has been there for months," says P.C. Ramesh, who stays right opposite the park, about the foundation plaque, which was laid in February this year after many requests from residents to develop the area.

"Municipal Corporation sweepers themselves throw rubbish from the road into the playground," he adds.

"The colony, which is now witnessing a boom in the number of towering residential apartments, does not have another proper recreational ground, and the only open space is being neglected by authorities," says B. Rama Rao, another resident of the area, who stays close to the playground, which he says was clean and with lot of space for children to play in earlier days.

"Now, if the kids want to play cricket or football, they have to take care not to sprain their ankles in the holes dug up for erecting shamianas," Mr. Rao adds.

The official version? "The proposal for the park was put on hold because of elections. It can be taken up only after May 25. As for the cleaning part, I will look into it," says A. Rajeshwar Rao, the Municipal Corporation's Additional Commissioner for Secunderabad.

(Readers are welcome to write about civic problems in their areas to the City Editor, The Hindu , Begumpet, Hyderabad - 16 or email to hydlife@thehindu.co.in).

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