Freedom Park, Bengaluru's prison-turned-iconic memorial, left to ruin

Dogs entered and exited out of the watchtower’s grill gate.

Models of prisoners are stained with bird droppings and a thick coat of dirt.

Tumblers and the water dispenser located right at the entrance were found dirty and rusty.

Models of prisoners at the forecourt and the cell wards were stained with bird droppings.

Freedom Park, the city’s iconic tourist attraction, is left in shambles with stained statues and several wards closed for public entry.

The complex, which served as the city’s central jail for decades, was converted into a memorial and thrown open to public in 2008.

While the park is open to visitors and walkers for fixed hours in the morning and evening, DH has found the park in a pathetic state.

Tumblers and the water dispenser located right at the entrance were found dirty and rusty, while several water stalls were found dry with the sink filled with shards of glass, match sticks and leaves.

Washrooms smelt bad even from a long distance and the stalls inside were dirty. Models of prisoners at the forecourt and the cell wards were stained with bird droppings, with a thick coat of dirt and pealing paint. Their white uniform totally lost its colour.

“The ward was filled with bird droppings, feathers, leaves and dirt,” said Jyotsna S, a visitor. “We could see bandicoots darting around. I was sacred enough to rush out of the enclosure.”

The other blocks of historical importance such as the watchtower, hospital ward and literary complex were out of bounce to the visitors and appeared equally dirty. Dogs entered and exited out of the watchtower’s grill gate and it was difficult even to walk along the two barracks that once housed a hundred prisoners when it was a jail.

The administrative office was also closed, and no person of authority was present at the park. “BBMP engineers and other officers visit the park once in eight to ten days,” said the security guard at the memorial.

The BBMP’s superintendent of horticulture (west), Om Prakash, did not return this reporter’s calls regarding the park’s poor maintenance.

Asked about the poor maintenance of the memorial, Prakash stated that the horticulture department was only responsible for the maintenance of lawns and the garden. The maintenance of statues and other blocks inside Freedom Park is the job of BBMP engineers, he asserted.

B Shivaswamy, Joint Commissioner (West), BBMP, said: “The park is maintained by the horticulture wing and I’ll instruct the official concerned to undertake the cleaning work immediately.”