Corpn playground becomes a warehouse for scrap items

Chennai: A playground close to the landmark Nandanam arch is now a shambles after the city corporation decided to make it a 'godown', dumping construction debris, road gravel and even a badly mangled car involved in an accident.
The wall around the ground, which sprawls over six grounds (1 ground = 2,400 sq ft), is damaged in several places and a sizeable amount of construction debris with cement pillars is dumped there.
This poses a risk to children who play cricket or other games there, said some residents, urging the corporation to clean up the only lung space in the area.
The corporation planned to build a indoor stadium here but the move was soon dropped, sources said. It probably is not aware that it still exists, said the residents.
"This is the only open space we have that is now full of scrap and gravel. We are tax-payers and have every right to demand that the corporation to do up the ground and repair the compound wall," said Vishwa who plays there daily.
His friends Logu, Ajay, Vikram and Naren showed this correspondent the scrap that could cause injuries. "This badly damaged car, construction debris and the bad compound walls are testimony of the corporation's apathy," they said.
Some senior citizens who reside in Lotus Colony and surrounding areas also called upon the corporation to restore the ground so that they could use it for morning and evening walks.
R Swaminathan, a resident, said the corporation and the authorities concerned should be proud that they had such a huge ground at their disposal. "They should level the ground, take out the garbage and make it easier for elders to go for a walk or for youngsters to play," he said.
All efforts by TOI to contact Greater Chennai Corporation officials to comment on the issue failed.