mid-day garden audit: Authorities start work to revamp garden in Aarey Colony

Landscaping work has begun at Aarey Colony's Picnic Point Garden, which had been lying unkempt. Pics/Sameer Markande

Now, it's the turn of Picnic Point Garden in Aarey Milk Colony to get a facelift. Taking a serious note of visitors' grievances published in mid-day on July 2, authorities have begun work to address the complaints and carry out a slew of improvements. Landscaping has already begun in one section of the garden; after monsoon, the broken tiles and other damaged equipment will be repaired.

Amit Pathak, a resident of Aarey Colony and a regular visitor to the garden, said, "It's good to see authorities take note of mid-day's report and start repair work. Landscaping on one side of the entrance gate has begun; also, a statue of a leopard (mascot of SGNP and Aarey) has been put up in the garden and will be unveiled soon."

mid-day corroborated the above with a visit yesterday. The work currently on is being done with the help of MLA fund of Ravindra Waikar, state housing minister. A worker at the garden, who did not wish to be named, confirmed that once monsoon is over, more improvements will be done in the garden.

Prime problems
mid-day had highlighted the poor maintenance of the garden, which is spread across more than two acres. The main issue there has been of lack of cleanliness. Despite several dustbins installed in the garden, plastic waste and other garbage can be found strewn about.

The statue of a leopard in the garden that will be unveiled soon

The walking tracks inside the garden are uneven, and even the mud tracks are in a bad shape, causing a lot of inconvenience to visitors. The play area, used by scores of children, especially during the weekends, is not in a good shape either, with swings missing among other issues.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates