No public park built in capital during last decade

Islamabad: Capital Development Authority (CDA) has not been able to construct even a single public park since the last one decade due to financial constraints.The civic agency is also showing blithe concern in maintaining and upgrading the existing public parks and green spaces in the capital city which once known for its lush greenery and serenity.The development of small parks in the city’s sectors for recreation of citizens had come at halt despite the fact its population has grown exponentially in the last ten years, the public complained while talking to this agency.“Public parks or play areas are integral part of our lives as it play key role in personality grooming, behavioural order and physical fitness,” Qasim Raza a health expert and resident of sector I-9 said while pointing out dilapidated condition of a public park in his area.“I used to have a morning walk in park of the sector I-9 but now have to travel a mile daily for it in Kachnaar park which is quite better place than the one available in my sector,” Qasim said and urged the departments concerned to rectify the situation.Bumpy tracks, broken swings and benches, faulty street lights and untrimmed wild bushes along with the walking tracks present only grim picture of utter negligence, a resident of I- 8, Alamgir Khan regretted while highlighting the apathy of department concerned due to which the park in his area was in abysmal condition.He said once there was a time when a large number of youngsters, children and families thronged parks in sectoral areas for recreation, exercise, jogging and amusement but now they were only Parks without Recreation and providing shelter to stray dogs and other wild animals during chilly nights.Advocate Hafiz Khurram, resident of Sector G- 7 said the CDA was supposed to build public parks in the city, besides ensuring their timely renovation but unfortunately the authority had not been taking any concrete measure in this regard.He alleged that there were some dedicated pieces of lands for parks in some sectors which were encroached by mafias that was a violation of Article 26 of the Constitution of Pakistan.An official source in the Capital Development Authority confirmed that the civic agency could not build a single park in the last ten years and told APP that the last park was set up during the tenure of former Chairman CDA.He said there were some 224 parks in Islamabad that ware developed by the civic agency and no budget had been allocated by the CDA and MCI for the maintenance or expansion of parks due to financial constraint.However, the official said development of the parks would be carried out on allocation of the budget by the CDA and MCI. At present, minor repair and maintenance work was carried out with manpower and available resources, he added. To a query, he said 64 un-developed designated public and children’s parks in different sectors of Islamabad would be planned in future.

from The News International - National https://ift.tt/2rtZBxv