Mumbai: Children’s play areas lie neglected in city gardens, allege locals

Mumbaikars point to old and broken equipment, lack of safety measures at kids’ areas in city gardens even as BMC is undertaking a Rs 2,000-crore beautification project

Kids’ play areas in city gardens do not seem to feature in the BMC’s Rs 2,000-crore beautification project with several such areas not getting any attention from the civic body. Some gardens have old and dangerous equipment while others, though set up, lack safety precautions.

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose garden in Pantnagar, Ghatkopar East is one such example where the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation developed a children’s play area with new equipment. Locals, however, pointed at the absence of safety precautions such as soft carpet. “There is new equipment in the garden but there are no safety precautions. The ground is solid concrete which can cause an accident,” said a parent. 

Sachin Manjrekar, a local, said, “The BMC started repairing the garden before last summer vacation. At that time, they removed the old equipment and stored it in the garden itself. A few months ago, they installed the new equipment, but there is no safety carpet.” He added, “The authorities should look at basic amenities before spending crores of rupees on painting the city in the name of beautification.”

Sports equipment at Rao Bahadur N Shivraj ground in Dharavi was also found broken. Pics/Sameer Markande

Swami Vivekanand Garden in Kannamwar Nagar, Vikhroli is in a very bad condition with most play equipments old and broken. Local resident Vaibhav Zhende said, “The equipment is rusted and can fall anytime. But authorities don’t have time to place new ones. We are afraid to send our children to the garden. BMC should maintain facilities like gardens properly, as outdoor activities are good for kids’ development.”

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Confusion over ownership

Rao Bahadur N Shivraj ground in Dharavi has a different story. “The children’s play equipment is in poor condition and most is broken. This can cause accidents,” said Giriraj Sherkhane, adding, “We had approached the BMC garden department but the officials said the garden belonged to MHADA. When I met MHADA officials, they said this was not in their jurisdiction. We are taking continuous followups, but no authority has come forward to solve this issue.”

Dilip Gadekar, another local resident, said, “I have written three letters to BMC chief I S Chahal. The last letter was written on December 26, 2022 about the poor condition of the ground. We did not receive any reply. Kids in Dharavi hardly get any open space to play. The BMC should be mindful of this.” Deputy Municipal Commissioner Kishor Gandhi did not respond to mid-day’s messages.

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