Mumbai: When can we return to our parks, asks Mira Bhayandar locals

Gates of the gardens and parks in Mira Bhayandar are still locked

In Mira Bhayandar, people demand to know why they cannot go for a walk in the gardens and parks when the corporation has allowed malls and markets to reopen a month back.

The state government had allowed the reopening of gardens and parks from June 1, but the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) has still not given its go-ahead.
In an October 1 circular, the MBMC allowed reopening of restaurants, food courts and bars, but mentioned nothing about letting the residents go back to the gardens in their locality.

Morning walk on busy roads

With almost all businesses resuming, the residents in Mira-Bhayandar are now demanding to unlock the gates of open places, as people are forced to go walking on the busy roads to get some fresh air.

The BMC had allowed the reopening of gardens, beaches and other open places for walks and other individual activities in the city in June itself despite having a huge number of COVID-19 cases, while in Mira-Bhayandar, where the residents were under total lockdown until July, are still not allowed to for morning walks in the parks of their locality.

Mira-Bhayandar's population density is one-third of Mumbai and still the city is not getting back its open spaces due to the fear of the pandemic. "I used to go for evening walks in a nearby garden, but after the lockdown, there isn't any space to walk. I understand the fear of spreading the virus due to crowds in gardens, but when markets are full then why is the restriction only on parks?" asked Krutika Bhoir, a resident from Bhayandar East.

People stressed, need walks

"The pandemic has put a lot of stress on people. The reopening of gardens would inspire people to go for a walk or jogging to deal with the mental stress, which would eventually help them get fitter and that is the need of the hour," said Yash Doshi, a resident of Poonam Nagar, Mira Road.

He added, "Currently, even if gardens are not open, people are going outside. If you visit places like Srishti or joggers park, one can see lots of people. If the gardens are reopened, not only the crowding in these places would reduce but also the risk of the spreading of the novel coronavirus."

Dr Vijay Rathod, municipal commissioner of MBMC, said, "There isn't any plan for reopening the gardens. But we will consider it later."

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