Though the park in Oulgaret Municipality boasts of a playground, walking track, seating areas, and plenty of greenery, the premises lacks drinking water and toilet facilities.
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Special Arrangement

Residents of Kurinji Nagar have raised concerns regarding security and amenities in the Oulgaret Municipality Park. While residents were happy with the overall upkeep of the premises — the park is maintained by around six to seven workers — they felt that there was room for improvement.

Though the park boasts of a playground, walking path, seating areas, and plenty of greenery, facilities like drinking water and toilets are yet to be provided on the premises, it is pointed out.

“The only water source is inside the temple adjacent to the park and it is hard to access the water tap, especially after an exhausting walk,” says an elderly resident who has been using the park for more than 20 years.

Park workers, though, claim that the authorities have begun steps to install borewells.

The visitors pointed out that some of the play equipment were rusty and worn out. Stating that the dismantled slide still hasn’t been cleared away, posing a potential risk to children, they said the pond, once a highlight of the park, lay in disuse due to mosquito infestation and was now being used to collect park waste.

A group of frequent visitors also raised concern over the walking track riddled with ditches and uneven spots which make it hard to use, especially for senior citizens.

One of the steel posts which houses the solar panel that provides electricity to the park has fallen down and been under repair for a long time. A few other residents stated that the poorly-lit, secluded areas of the park were being frequented by groups of boys, making the place unsafe.

A. Suresh Raj, Commissioner of Oulgaret Municipality, stated that all complaints forwarded to him were being promptly addressed, and so far, there have been no formal grievance regarding lack of toilet or water facilities in the park.

He contended that the construction of toilets may not have been a priority while designing the park as the place was primarily intended for residents of nearby streets who could easily return to their houses within a 120-metre radius.

The Commissioner said that the municipality has been consistently carrying out renovation of the park based on requests from residents. While the development of the park’s infrastructure was solely the responsibility of the municipality, its maintenance depended on the users, he added. The park’s maintenance would soon be handed over to a Resident Welfare Association (RWA), he added.