Residents complain as play area in Bengaluru's JP Nagar in disrepair

Unfinished fencing work at the BBMP playground in JP Nagar 7th Phase. Credit: DH Photo

A BBMP playground in RBI Layout, 11th main road, JP Nagar 7th phase, has had a broken children’s play area for nearly four years now.

Residents have alleged that the authorities have taken no interest in repairing the equipments.

Paneendra Bellur, a resident in the locality, tweeted on February 18 about the condition of the children’s play area. "Many here pay income tax, GST, property tax and this is what they get," he wrote, attaching images of the park equipment.

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He said that residents had been complaining for nearly four years about the park posing a threat to the safety of the children who frequent it every evening. “Authorities seem least interested in maintaining existing facilities because it is not a big project that can bring in lots of money,” he said.

Chandru, a resident of RBI Layout, complained that BBMP officials make residents run around by assuring action but not delivering on their promises. "Every time we have asked about the terrible state of the children’s play area, they assured us that they would get to work right away but they haven’t made any progress for over three years,” he said, adding that they have been telling residents they do not have the funds.

He hopes that the equipment can be fixed before summer vacations begin so the children from the neighbourhood can make the most use of the play area.

Jayaram, a local political leader, said that he was made aware of the issue just about a week ago. “I have informed the mechanics who set up the play area to fix the broken equipment but I don’t know how long they will take,” he said.