Workers apply fresh coat of paint on new rides in the children’s play area of Biju Patnaik Park in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, July 3: City parks will once again feature in children’s weekend itinerary.

The Bhubaneswar Development Authority has started refurbishing the amusement spots by replacing severely damaged rides with new ones in the kids’ enclosure of Biju Patnaik Park. Other major parks having children’s play areas will also get a facelift in subsequent phases.

For almost three years, the rides in the kids’ enclosure of the park had been lying broken and the authorities had not taken any initiative to replace them. However, a sustained campaign by The Telegraph on the status of parks and children’s safety has attracted the development authority’s attention.

“We started the work in Biju Patnaik Park a fortnight ago and it will be over within a week. The rides are being completely replaced and some other rides and bars, which had not been damaged, were given a fresh coat of paint,” said executive engineer (division III) of the development authority Ambika Mohanty.

Sibani Sethi, a Class V student of a city school and resident of Ganganagar, said she had been visiting the park since her pre-school days. But in the past three years, the rides’ condition had gone from bad to worse. “No one bothered to repair or replace them. They had also become dangerous. If they are putting up new rides, I may start going to the parks again,” she said.

The authorities have cordoned off the kids’ play enclosure in the park to avoid disturbance during installation of new rides and maintenance of the old ones.

Principal of a pre-school, Maria Montessori School of Little Angels, Jasaswini Mohapatra said they had stopped taking schoolchildren to the parks as the rides were dilapidated. “However, after the renovation is over, we will take the kids there for picnics or amusement,” said Mohapatra.

Chief horticulturist of the development authority Ashok N. Dhar said the damaged rides in Madhusudan Park at Pokhariput have been repaired. “We may replace some rides if need be. We are also scouting for sponsors for the purpose,” he said.

Dhar, however, blamed common visitors for the damaged state of rides in the kids’ play areas in many parks. “The rides are meant for children below 12 years of age, but our guards and gardeners often complain that grown-up boys and girls, and sometimes even their parents, are also using the rides causing the damage,” he said.

A guard of Biju Patnaik Park said they had to bear the wrath of the public if they opposed the use of the rides by elders. “Often the grown-ups use swings and slides. As the rides are designed for children under 12 years and cannot bear much weight, they get damaged easily,” he said.

Pradyumna Panda, who regularly visits Biju Patnaik Park for relaxation and exercise, said that after installing the new rides, the authorities must tighten security near the children’s play area and ensure that elders did not use them. “That will ensure longevity of the rides,” said Panda.