Sans maintenance, only park in Thirupulivanam unfit for use

The village, located near Uthiramerur in neighbouring Kancheepuram, has a population of more than 15,000. Most of its residents are daily wagers. Sources said that the late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had executed the plan to build the park attached with a gym in the village at Rs 30 lakh. The work was completed and the park was inaugurated by Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami in July 2018.

“After the park was inaugurated, youngsters like me were excited to use the gym inside it. Every morning, we would go to the gym and workout and most of the villagers were using the park for morning walks,” said Karthick from the area. All of this lasted for only a short period as the park was not maintained by the officials. Sources said its maintenance responsibility is for Thirupulivanam village panchayat but the officials have failed to do it.

The gym was closed within six months after the inauguration and the park has also become unusable now. After it was taken over by anti-social elements who use it to consume liquor at night, the residents stopped using the park completely.

“It was the only source of entertainment for us. The gym has been locked for a year and the money spent on the equipment was wasted,” said another resident of the village.

When contacted, Uthiramerur Panchayat union BDO R Thangaraj said, “We are taking steps to renovate the park and the gym and it would be opened shortly. Villagers can use it like before.”