Civic neglect and public apathy has left a 60-year-old historic park dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi in the capital, in a shambles.
Located in Kotla Mubarkpur, 'Bapu Park', the only park under the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC)that is dedicated or named after the Father of the Nation and opened on his birth anniversary in 1950s, remained a picture of neglect this Gandhi Jayanti.
"For many years, I have seen no Gandhi Jayanti being celebrated on October 2. This year too, there was nothing done either from the civic bodies or the state government to mark the occasion. No one even cared to clean the white statue, let alone garland it," Shekhar, a local resident, said.
A tall, white marble statue was inaugurated by the then Union Home Minister G B Pant on October 2, 1955 under the auspices of a local commemoration committee, the inscription on the pedestal reads.
The pedestal is now scarred with graffiti. Locals complained that life becomes "hellish" during rains when "the entire park and the adjoining entry street is flooded".
"The park has suffered due to neglect by the municipal authorities and apathy of the people in general. Local residents tie their cattle to the fence from the street side and dump the dung in the park.
"Mosquitoes breed here during rains and locals come and play cards or gamble on the park premises. Some people even use it to answer nature's call. Instead of preserving it, we have reduced a piece of history to such deplorable conditions," Abhishek Ranjan, a professional who lives near the park, said.
But cops at Kotla Mubarakpur police station said "they were not aware of any such gambling problems".
