Bengaluru: Cubbon Park cries, no one’s listening

Bengaluru: Snapped electric cables, a bridge awaiting maintenance, protruding railings, broken footpaths, and crumbling road kerbs have left the scenic Cubbon Park in a shambles. Flocked by thousands of walkers, joggers and visitors on a daily basis, the verdant park has been crying for attention for over a year, only to be let down by poor upkeep.
Much to the inconvenience of walkers and joggers, electric cables are dangling alongside the hanging bridge on the western side of the park.The iron railings of the little islands near the state central library have been broken for months and pose safety concerns for them.

“Sometimes, fallen bricks will be lying around, and the protruding metal railings pose a considerable threat to walkers and runners,” said M Gangadhar, a regular walker at Cubbon Park. The walkers complained that despite repeated complaints to the park authorities, the infrastructural mess has remained the same for about a year.
The Cubbon Park Walkers’ and Joggers’ Association echoed the problem. “Ever since smart city work started, the park has been in bad shape. The authorities associated with the project have not been doing anything for development of the park. Whenever we go with a problem to the officials, they say they lack funds. But on paper, we do see Rs 20-crore worth work taken up as part of the smart city project. I am even preparing to file a PIL against contractors and horticulture department over their negligence,” said Umesh Kumar, president of the association.
Vikas Gupta, a regular visitor to Cubbon Park, said, “A tree fell on the bridge about three years ago, damaging it. All the walkers brought this to the notice of the department. But there has been neither any maintenance nor any repair work till date.”
An official from the horticulture dept told TOI that the bridge is old and walkers can use alternative routes for their daily walks. The bridge was installed by the Indian Army’s Madras Engineers Group (MEG) & Centre in Bengaluru in 2013.
“The iron attachment that was welded has come off resulting in connectivity issues. We have been aware of the damages to the bridge since Aug 2023. Due to lack of funds and budgetary allocations, we have not been able to repair it,” he clarified.
M Pavitra, deputy director of the horticulture department (Cubbon Park), clarified that they have received complaints from walkers and soon after the model code of conduct for Lok Sabha elections is lifted, they will take up works and repair the damaged parts.
– Muskaan Mirani