Time to see the writing on the crumbling walls

Developed at a cost of Rs 30 crore, the 10-acre Pramod Mahajan garden in Dadar has already started facing a host of problems, less than two months after it was finally inaugurated.

A 25-metre patch of the garden's wall has crumbled. Many other patches have developed cracks and are also teetering on the brink of collapse. This has led to very valid fears of druggies creeping into the garden after dark, in the same way that they used to earlier. Trees in this garden have also been trimmed haphazardly and seasoned shrubs have perished.

It is shocking that a garden, which has been open for barely two months, has fallen into a state of disrepair. There has obviously been shoddy work on the wall since there is a gaping cavity already. The BMC Sewerage Operations Department, which developed the garden, should have ensured top quality construction material and development. The fact that it has caved in after just one heavy shower in Mumbai, is a pointer about how haphazardly this work may have been completed.

There is no excuse for wasting the taxpayers' money. The garden was not made within a tight deadline. In fact, this paper had reported how it had been ready for months, but for some mysterious reason had not been thrown open to the public. It was opened post the report, in early May.

With the city struggling for open spaces it is even more essential to ensure security at public parks and see that they are used for open air exercise. Out of the few parks that the city has, many are used for political gatherings and functions. The rallying cry to keep maidans and open spaces free of political gatherings and for sport, continue to go unheeded.

The Dadar garden was a very welcome green spot in an otherwise impossibly congested area. The wall must be repaired quickly and those responsible for the slipshod job should be quickly identified and pulled up. Let the real culprits pay, and not just some junior personnel, who are convenient scapegoats in cases like these.