Residents of Tiruchi have expressed concern over the deplorable condition of public parks in the city. Once popular spots for recreation and relaxation, these parks have fallen into disrepair, with many citing inadequate maintenance and neglect.
Except for the parks in major areas, several of them, including the Mahatma Gandhi Park in K.K. Nagar, Anandha Avenue Park, Dr. Ranganathan Park, Lourdusamy Pillai Park and Tyre Park, lack proper maintenance. The public parks in interior residential areas bear the brunt.
Overgrown plants and the dilapidated condition of the walkways reflect the poor maintenance of the parks. The amusement equipment remain damaged and fountains in some of the parks have gone dry.
“We cannot walk on roads due to their poor condition and ongoing work, and now, with the poor upkeep of parks, we cannot walk there either. Action should be taken to maintain the existing parks instead of creating new ones,” said K. Jagadeesh, a city resident.
According to sources, there are over 300 parks in all five zones of the city, and the maintenance cost in each park was more than ₹2 lakh a year.
Despite investing a significant amount in creating these parks, the civic body has not allocated sufficient funds for their maintenance. A sum of ₹50 lakh had been sanctioned from the Corporation’s General Funds 2024-25 for the upkeep of parks.
At present, Ibrahim Park on West Boulevard Road, Chinnasamy Park on Rajaram Road, R.S. Puram South Park in Khajamalai, Science Park in Annanagar, Heritage Park on Butterworth Road, and STEM Park on Panchakarai Road have been outsourced to private agencies for maintenance.
Following a satisfactory outcome, the civic body planned to rope in more such agencies for the maintenance of all public parks in the city to reduce expenditure. However, the officials claim that the private players prefer parks, which would generate more revenue. They invited private entities, non-governmental organisations, banks, resident welfare organisations, and others to take up the maintenance of parks. But only a few organisations came forward.
Meanwhile, the civic body has planned to deploy around 20 sanitation workers, who are engaged in clearing drains and to clean the parks besides sweeping the road.
