Problems associated with green areas

Rocks rolled down from Indrakeeladri, the abode of Goddess Kanaka Durga due to a minor landslide. The incident happened during the ongoing Dasara Navaratri festivities. With incessant rains during the past few days and lack of vegetation, the Indrakeeladri has been witnessing landslides. Authorities have then erected iron meshes to stop landslides and also put-up danger boards warning people from entering the danger zones. But it can be handled more appropriately with the increase in vegetation that suits such slopy areas.

Problems associated with green areas

Parks and open spaces in Vijayawada city are facing many problems, Authorities are beautifying city roads with aesthetic green cover to please the visitors but the major public parks which are supposed to provide relief and entertainment for the masses and utterly neglected. The beautification of Vijayawada, taken up at a cost of Rs 20 crore but the old parks and common places are being neglected, only the thoroughfares were being painted colorfully and greenery being developed. The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation and the district administration are striving to beautify the city only to impress the investors. The old parks, Raghavaiah Ambedkar and KL Rao, in the city still lack maintenance but new parks are being built on the highways and main roads.

People who visit the parks in summer are greatly disappointed at the sight of the poorly maintained parks. The Rajiv Gandhi Park near PNBS, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar and Raghavaiah Park on M. G. road, Dr. K. L. Rao park in K. L. Rao Nagar and Gora Park in Gandhinagar are some of the major parks for the people to visit and beat the heat. But unfortunately, the ambience in these parks in pathetic and poor maintenance is keeping many people to look elsewhere for relief. Many visitors said that: “from outside Raghavaiah park seems to be the cleanest one but when I entered I realized it is badly maintained”, “the trappings installed for children are in poor shape and the expansion of NH in Krishna Lanka is worsening the park’s condition”, “greenery is rarely seen in these parks, they have become a haven for lovelorn couples causing inconvenience to others & poor maintenance is keeping many people to look elsewhere for relief”, “though my son wanted to play seesaw, I didn’t allow him as the seat is damaged badly”.

Figure 20.18: bad condition of play equipments in parks Source: the hindu and times of India news While the appurtenances remain useless, the rooms used to host mini zoo and aquarium in the Rajiv Gandhi Park have been demolished. Worst is the collection of extra fare for vehicles by contractors at the parking bay. More than 500 people visit the park a day, according to park representatives. However, the recently installed mini “giant wheel” and skating rinks are major attraction to kids. The K. L. Rao park, the only park which has a boating canal, faces a similar situation of bad maintenance. Poor maintenance and lack of play equipment in VMC parks prove a major dampener for children. The play equipments in the parks are in a horrible condition which may in fact cause harm to children. Rs 50 lakh per annum is issued for the maintenance of public parks in the city but in vain. Majority of the parks greet the visitors with discarded plastic bottles, polythene bags, wild growth of vegetation and damaged play equipment. The VMC is developing a big green park on Sambamurthy Road. It is observed that the officials spend money on areas where the public live but not on the main roads and highways. Investing on development of parks in places where people do not live but VIPs move is a bad idea, they said.

There are many vacant land plots owners who are not maintaining their open plots. These open plots have become a major problem during the monsoon as water gets stagnated in these areas which has turned into mosquito breeding zones causing menace in residential areas. Moreover, dumping garbage and debris in open plots has become a recurrent problem. Despite numerous notices also, the VMC hasn’t seen any response from owners for years. The municipal corporation should rope volunteers and sanitation workers to clean out the garbage-filled plots with stagnant water.

Figure 20.19: Bad condition if vacant green spaces Source: The Hindu and times of India news