Stinging pain for park visitors

Ranchi: Mosquito menace has assumed unbearable proportions in and around Morabadi grounds, a favourite haunt of morning walkers and joggers.

The ground, where three parks have been developed at a cost of Rs 3 crore, has become a breeding haven for mosquitoes thanks to the garbage dumped by vendors and the absence of regular fogging.

"The three beautifully developed parks - Children's Park, Ramdayal Munda Park and Oxygen Park - have transformed into vector-breeding spots as civic authorities do not care to conduct anti-mosquito vector-breeding there," a regular morning and evening walker and resident of Morabadi Renuka Tiwari, told The Telegraph .

Prachi Singh, a homemaker in Morabadi and a regular visitor to the ground, supported Tiwari.

"Children's Park with its swings, slides and see-saws is unclean. Vendors around the park throw away trash and it keeps lying in heaps in the absence of regular cleaning," she said.

The problem is made worse by the rainy season that is ideal for rapid breeding of mosquitoes, which threatens the spread of vector-borne diseases.

"It has become difficult to walk and exercise properly in the park," Singh rued.

The visitors to the parks also complained of trees with peeling bark and shrivelled-up plants.

"The green cover has reduced a lot. Once the ground was filled with trees, but now the number of tress has reduced substantially. Some steps should be taken to protect the green cover," Deepak Singh, a septuagenarian resident of Kishoreganj, who visits the ground on Sundays, said.

Municipal commissioner Shantanu Agrahari said only two out of the three parks are managed by Ranchi Municipal Corporation and he would ensure proper care and cleanliness there.

"We manage only Children's Park and Ramdayal Munda Park. Oxygen Park is looked after by the forest department. We will ensure that regular fogging is done there now that matter has come to my knowledge. We will also ensure that the plants are properly protected," Agrahari said.

District forest officer Rajeev Lochan Bakshi expressed his ignorance.

"I have no idea about the issues at Oxygen Park. Our role comes only when trees are being felled," Bakshi said.