New Baradari parks lost in wild growth, official apathy

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Jalandhar, June 16

The park at New Baradari that was inaugurated in 2005 by the then Social security, women and child development Minister is a total mess. No one can imagine entering the park that is adjoining a religious place as it is in a deplorable state.

Fear of reptiles, insects

The two parks in the area are not suitable for any activity. We cannot send our children there, as there is always a fear of getting bitten by insects and reptiles due to the wild growth.

Kiran, New Baradari resident

A look at the park from outside makes it clear that not much attention has been given to maintain it. Overgrown grass and weeds at every inch of the park has made people dejected. The park that was meant for recreation for the people has become a problem. Ironically, several government quarters along with homes of PCS officers are situated near the park. There is a police range office, too, nearby.

In the name of rides, there is one broken swing and a slide which are lying amidst tall unwanted plants.

Joined recently, will look into matter

I got the charge recently; I will have to check the status. There are some parks which are being looked after by societies, I will have to see if these parks come under us or are under them.

Rahul Dhawan, mc suptd engineer

Even the foundation stone of the park is enough to tell the tale of the poor upkeep of the park. A resident said the park got cleaned once in a while, but he expected that if cleaned properly, it would be beneficial for the people. “Also, if not maintained properly, the chances of presence of snakes or other poisonous reptiles increase,” he rued.

Just a few meters away from this, there lies another park that was inaugurated in 2020 by then Mayor Jagdish Raja and Jalandhar Central MLA Rajinder Beri. Although comparatively in a good condition, the swings here are also broken. Since the monsoon has also started, the condition is only deteriorating.

Kiran, a resident, said she was disappointed that there were two parks in the area and both of them were not suitable for doing any activity. “We cannot send our children here, because there is always a fear of getting bitten by insects,” she said. “People go there to walk sometimes, but, it is not possible to remain there for long.”

Rahul Dhawan, Superintendent Engineer (B&R) of the Municipal Corporation said, “I just got the charge recently; I will have to check the status. There are some parks which are being looked after by the societies, so, I will have to see if these parks come under us or under the societies,” he said.