CHENNAI: A small children’s park meant to serve residents of Agathiyar Nagar and its extension lies unused, with overgrown shrubs surrounding its swings, slides and other play equipment.
The park, maintained by the Greater Chennai Corporation, is the only designated children’s play space for residents across more than 15 streets in the locality. But safety concerns over an electricity transformer located within the premises have kept children away, while poor maintenance has left the park largely dormant.
Residents said they had raised concerns about the location even before the park was inaugurated several years ago.
“They should have constructed the park elsewhere,” said Thilagabama, a long-time resident, adding that residents had pointed out the transformer when the park was being planned. “We used to take our kids to play, but it felt unsafe,” she said.
The park, maintained by GCC, is the only designated children’s play space for residents across more than 15 streets, but poor maintenance has left the park largely dormant
Over time, fewer families began using the park and the space was eventually left unattended. The result is visible in the overgrown vegetation, fallen leaves and unused play equipment scattered across the premises.
Meanwhile, the inauguration of the CMDA sports complex in the vicinity has brought more residents to the area. Rather than replacing the need for the small children’s park, the increased use of the sports complex has highlighted the lack of a dedicated space for younger children.
“After the inauguration of the sports complex, many people started coming to play badminton and use the gym. Many times, there is no space for children,” said Koushik, a father of a seven-year-old boy.
Parents said the children’s play area at the sports complex can get crowded quickly, making the unused Corporation park all the more relevant to families in the neighbourhood.
“With proper safeguards and maintenance, the park can be a good play area for residents of Agathiyar Nagar and Ponvizha Nagar,” Koushik said.
Ward councillor Sudha Deenadhayalan acknowledged the presence of the transformer as one of the reasons for the park being closed. She said she would speak to Corporation engineers about the issue and explore measures to make the space safe for children.