Kanpur residents give green makeover to parks

KANPUR: Concerned over decreasing habit of outdoor playing among the kids that lead to rise in lifestyle diseases later in life, the residents of several areas of the city, including Pandu Nagar, Shivaji Nagar, Model Town, Govind Nagar, Vishnupuri etc have taken initiative to develop and maintain parks so that they could be used by children as well as the senior citizens as a step towards healthy living.
These parks have swings, nature trails, flowerbeds, sports facilities and walking tracks. With beautiful flowers and green bushes, they have benches for elderly to sit, relax and breathe in some fresh air during the morning and evening hours. Some of the parks have walking tracks for health conscious residents who take some time out from their life of hustle bustle and walk there for several minutes. CB Singh, a local of Shivaji Nagar, has taken the phrase, ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy' rather seriously. He said that they have planted a variety of plants, including medicinal ones and started rainwater harvesting system in their local park.
"Many years back, when my children were kids, there was no place for them to play in Shivaji Nagar. The park was a muddy ground with no facilities. They used to play cricket on streets. We decided to develop the park around 5 years back. I encourage children to play here. We have divided the park into two parts--one is the ‘no ball zone' where elderly and women sit--while the other part is for children to play cricket, badminton etc. The inclination of the park is such that the rain water is tapped inside the park and is utilised for growing grass and flowers," he said.
Rajesh Singh, corporator of Lajpat Nagar area, where are located five well-maintained parks, appreciated the efforts of the locals in maintaining them. "Basic infrastructure like park lights, benches etc are provided by the Nagar Nigam. The locals have raised funds to develop and maintain parks of their respective area," he said.
Bhupinder Kaur of Model Town said that it has been 20 years since they are maintaining the park in their society. "Needless to say that parks are an integral part of every society. They are not just a place to play or exercise but give a pleasant sight to eyes. It relaxes the mood. The members of the society have been maintaining the two parks in the locality for the past about 20 years. Each one of us pay certain amount annually for their maintenance. One of the two parks has a walking track while the other is lased with sports facilities like badminton net etc. Women do yoga practice, youngsters come here for walk, elderly sit at the scenic place, while children play badminton at the place," she said.
Even the parks in Govind Nagar locality are beautifully maintained by the locals. Renu Sabbarwal, corporator of the area said, "Out of the 24 parks in the area, 20 are maintained. The locals raise funds for their maintenance. They have hired a gardener who plants beautiful seasonal flowers and shrubs in the parks," Sabbarwal said.