Two years, Rs 156 crore and a garden in disarray

The SK Patil Udyan at Charni Road, which was once a sprawling area of greenery housing 55 types of different plants, along with a pond and an elephant slide, is now a breeding ground for mosquitoes and is covered with tin sheets, thanks to the BMC's water department that dug up the garden to set up a water pipeline

Two years after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) water department spent Rs 156 crore for setting up a pipeline at S K Patil Udyan at Charni Road, the garden, which was once a sprawling area of greenery housing 55 types of different plants, replete with a pond and an elephant slide, is in a mess. The pond has now become a breeding ground for mosquitoes, the slides have been dumped in the garden’s corners and the elephant slide was brought down using mines.

MiD DAY had earlier reported about the garden’s sorry state of affairs, following which the BMC’s tree committee and garden committee visited the vicinity and held joint meetings. Clearly, the meetings didn’t yield any results. After disgruntled residents complained about the BMC’s lacklustre work, this correspondent visited the spot and noticed that 75 per cent of the garden’s area is still strewn with tin sheets.

The pond at the SK Patil Udyan has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes, (below) iron rods and shrubbery are a common feature at the premises. Pics/ Bipin Kokate

Mahendra Bhatt, 72, has been visiting the premises since his childhood and is also the brain behind the SK Patil Udyan Sudhaar Samiti, which is fighting for the restoration of the garden. He said, “What’s makes us sad is that, we got the garden renovated in 2006 and now the BMC has destroyed it again. Today, we can use only a minimal part of the garden for recreational purposes.”

Bhatt claimed that he and other locals want to restore the garden but the civic body is making them run from pillar to post. He alleged that his RTI queries to the BMC aren’t yielding proper results.

Seventy-five per cent of the SK Patil Udyan is covered with tin sheets

Popatbhai Soni, 73, a regular visitor of the garden, said, “Seeing the garden in this state is like seeing my home getting destroyed. It hurts to see the garden in a mess.”

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