Pune: Despite the removal of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, three public parks maintained by the Pune Cantonment Board (PCB), JJ Memorial Garden, Raj Lakshmi Garden, and Nala Garden, remain in a sorry state of affairs. Concerned individuals have voiced their dissatisfaction that the PCB has rejected their pleas to reopen these gardens, resulting in their continuing plight.
Several activists have written to the PCB administration in recent months, pushing them to fix the children’s play equipment, drinking fountains, and toilets so that the gardens can be reopened to the public. However, their efforts have so far shown no beneficial results. The residents are now questioning the rationale behind the PCB’s allocation of taxpayers’ money for establishing these gardens if they are to remain unusable.
M Ali Sayed, an activist, emphasized the need of submitting concerns to the PCB CEO and administration authorities regarding the cleaning, reopening, and upkeep of the gardens, but no remedial measure has been taken. He petitioned the board to restore the gardens to the public on behalf of all citizens.
The chief of the PCB garden section, Jayant Kangana, stated that the PCB had control over various small and large gardens, and that four gardens have been closed for the previous three years. The PCB administration opted to terminate the procurement procedure for their upkeep due to a shortage of funding. Kangana declined to speak further on the situation.
