VIP greed is death knell for parks

The Town Panchayat had earlier set aside land in all its 13 wards for developing parks. But some influential political leaders in the region encroached on the lands, and now the Town Municipal Council is left with no land even to set up libraries.

With the increase in population, the Town Panchayat was recently made into a Town Municipal Council (TMC). There are now 23 wards in the TMC and 64 spots had been identified for setting up parks.

But since most of the spots had already been encroached upon, there are only few lands left for developing parks.

Even these lands have been lying vacant, including the park developed right next to the TMC during the tenure of then town panchayat president Srinivasa Reddy.

Lack of maintenance

Lack of maintenance has turned this park into a barren site and the lights installed at the park too have disappeared.

In spite of the town being the main centre of the taluk, there isn’t a single park here and people who like to take a stroll have no choice but to walk on the main roads and the national highways passing through the town. The widening of roads has also stolen the town of its tree cover. The increasing vehicular density on roads and the decreasing tree cover has made the situation unbearable.

In spite of numerous protests by various organisations and associations, no steps have been taken to reclaim the sites that were identified for the parks. Residents allege that this has been possible since officers are hand-in-glove with local leaders.

In 2005, former legislator G V Srirama Reddy had performed the ground-breaking ceremony for developing up an eco-park in the 10-acre land next to the historical Jadala Bhairaveshwara temple here.

But project has now been stalled and the land has become a site for illegal activities.
With TMC officials showing no interest in reclaiming the 64 sites, residents want the deputy commissioner and senior officers of the district administration to probe into the issue and take strict measures to reclaim the land and develop parks.