With a shortage of traditional playgrounds, streets have become the go-to arenas for many sports enthusiasts.
Credit: DH File Photo
Bengaluru: Three large residential layouts developed by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) do not have even a single playground.
This is a gross violation of the BDA’s own rule that mandates 15 per cent of the layout to be set aside for parks and playgrounds. While playgrounds are a must for physical activity, the authority has a record of giving away these areas as civic amenity (CA) sites to private organisations.
To a question asked by Yeshwantpur MLA ST Somashekar in the recently concluded assembly session, the government responded that no playground had been developed in Anjanapura, Banashankari 6th Stage as well as in Sir M Visvesvaraya layout and handed over to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
Residents of the area say the BDA has done “gross injustice” to students and youngsters, who are deprived of a good space to engage in sports or any other physical activity.
“We all complain that the screen time among our children has gone up but little have we realised that the playgrounds in our neighbourhood, even in the BDA developed layouts, are missing even though the rulebook has provision for it,” said B M Shivakumar, a resident of Kengeri Satellite Town.
He urged the BDA to immediately develop playgrounds in the three above-mentioned layouts, saying the authority would be doing a disservice to the people who aspire to get into athletics or the army but have no place to prepare.
According to the records, the three layouts comprise 35 blocks and over two lakh houses. While the BDA had formed around 12,000 sites in Anjanapura, Banashankari 6th Block and Sir M Visvesvaraya have 30,000 and 25,000 sites, respectively. Other than the sites formed by the BDA, there are over one lakh revenue sites.
Raj Mohan, a resident of Banashankari 6th Block, said the BDA cannot operate like a private firm. “When the authority approves layout plans, the 15% rule for parks and playgrounds also applies to the private developer. If the BDA is not serious about honouring its own rule, how will it enforce the same rule on the private firm? he asked.