Keep Niku Park intact: MLAs Pargat, Rinku

Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, September 19

A day after the district administration created panic by sealing Niku Park, two local MLAs and a Congress councillor who had allegedly pressurised the officials to immediately take back possession of the park from the Niku Park Children Welfare Society, now seem to have diluted their stand on the issue to some extent. The park remained open today and the new 13-member interim committee held its first meeting in the park.

Seeing the massive backlash coming from the public, the political leaders who had earlier suggested that a part of the park be taken for constructing a multi-level parking are now maintaining that the park be kept intact keeping in view the sentiments of the masses and instead 3 acres of land just adjoining the park where residences of Mayor and Commissioner fall be used for the purpose.

Jalandhar West MLA Sushil Rinku said, “We will keep the park intact.” Even Jalandhar Cantonment MLA Pargat Singh said, “The parks are the lungs of city. We cannot convert into something concrete.” Both Mayor and Commissioner have agreed to do away with their official residences in Model Town and suggested that these be demolished and used for creating a multi-level parking. Commissioner already has another official residence in Adarsh Nagar.

Over the issue as to who should run the park after the expiry of the lease period, the MLAs have a divergent view. On this issue, Pargat and Rinku are not on the same page as Jalandhar Central MLA Rajinder Beri’s view goes well with the sentiments of majority of the residents that the park should be again handed over to the Lotus Bawa group owner Atamjit Bawa. “No one can handle the park the way he did. He maintained it very well. He did not indulge in profit making or commercialisation of it. People of the entire city are happy over its upkeep and maintenance of standards”, he said. Meanwhile, Bawa is learnt to have moved his file for again getting the park on lease.

Pargat Singh, who often finds trouble with the working of his government and even the Municipal Corporation, is of the view that the park can be run well by the government itself. “Of course, the government can run it in a better way”, he said. Rinku says anyone whom the administration or the government deems fit should be allowed to run the park. “The previous society lagged behind in maintaining coordination with the district administration which should not be the case henceforth”, he tries to pick minute problems.

The residents are demanding that the park and the parking lot be kept as separate projects. “The park should not be given on bidding. If there will be any auction, the prices of rides will go up. We insist that the park should be maintained as it is on ‘no profit, no loss’ basis as it is the only source of cheap and full entertainment of the children in the city,” said Beri.