What was built with an aim to refresh the lungs of the residents is choking itself!
Hot and surging summers have not only made life difficult for human but are taking a toll on the parks of Ranchi as they are up against uncertain and inadequate water supply to remain alive these days.
Morhabadi is considered to be the lung of Ranchi. located here is the Ramdayal Munda Park which was handed over to Aqua World, through bidding, to re-open, run and maintain. Spread in over 56,000sqft, the park has walking trails and promises to have a lush green cover.
Caretaker of the park, Siddharth, informed that no clear guidance and directions are being given on water shortage. He pointed out to the accumulation of garbage due to the sheer negligence in the maintenance by the management. “The hedges and trees are drying day by day. Whatever water we get, we use it to water the plants, but the routine isn’t certain. At times there is no pressure in the water which results in the non-watering of the plants,” added Siddharth.
Raja Singh, manager of Aqua World acknowledged the matter and said that there is an issue with the bore well water supply which is preventing in a routing watering of the plants. “We are looking into the problem already and are working towards rectifying this at the soonest so that the hedges, plants and the trees can be properly taken care off. We are also taking steps in order to clean up the park and declare it garbage free,” added Raja.
Sidho-Kanho Park, located at Kanke Road is being maintained by the Jharkhand State Forest Development Corporation (JSFDC). The staff on ground complained of irregular water supplies, resulting in the lack of proper watering of plants and hedges. They also said that the electricity supply has been shunned for more than three months. HS Gupta, MD – JSFDC, said, “Due to increased urbanization and lowering of the ground water levels, we are experiencing water supply problems.”
Meanwhile, parks like the Nilambar Pitambar Park and the Bio-Diversity Park which fall under the Forest Department boasts of proper measures taken to ensure the maintenance of the green cover. Commenting on the upkeep of both the parks, Conservator of Forest, Rajeev lochan Bakshi said, “We have been getting constant good reviews for our steps taken to maintain the parks. We have constructed two water harvesting structures at Nilambar Pitambar Park located at Morhabadi, to ensure seamless water supply with little dependence on outside source. It takes a lot of effort for us to look after both the parks, as it is thronged by people, but we are committed to provide our people a good experience.”
Mary is one of the 10 people employed at the Nilambar Pitambar Park who waters the plants here on a daily basis. She said, “My work, during summers, begin at 9 am and ends at 5pm. During this time, it is my responsibility to keep a close check that all the plants are watered in a proper way. We also make sure that dust doesn’t accumulate on the leaves.”