Secunderabad Clock Tower park awaits public entry for six years

Secunderabad: Several parks in Secunderabad that swarmed with public were fenced to deny the entry to public. One among many is the exquisite Clock Tower garden which remained closed to the public for the past six years. The GHMC officials cite security issues for it.

Technically the garden was meant for the public visit but it being liable to encroachments and having safety issues the government kept them closed for the public. The serial blast at Lumbini Park and Gokul Chat in August 2007, that came as a terror alarm had alerted the government officials to initiate closure of the garden for the public visit. After the completion of the procedure that was followed to close the garden, the public was denied entry for the past six years.

“There is a possibility of the culprit entering the park and get mixed with the teeming crowd to cause harm to the park visitors. It is not possible to check the identity of every individual entering the park. The garden can only be used by GHMC officials when conducted official meetings,” said Clement, field assistant, horticulture. Incidentally, the private bodies can hire the Clock Tower Park for few hours for which the GHMC charges anywhere around Rs 2000 but the hiring business was not known to many. “Only two private organisations had hired the park so far,” he said.

It is not just the worry of the security problem but the maintenance of it. According to the sources, even after deploying more staff because people were not supportive, there are instances in the past when anti-social elements took over the garden once the public left e garden premises. The litter thrown all over, plucking of flowers, leaves and removing grass raises the concern for maintenance.

The issue would remain unresolved Speaking to The Hans India, P Anuradha Reddy, convenor, INTACH, Hyderabad, said, “It is hard to understand whether the government has been ignoring or remained to be helpless on how to tackle the safety issues. There is a problem of drunken people entering the park and cause havoc but it would be a good idea if the government can make the garden open for specific timings and beef up the security levels which would turn into a blessing for many nature lovers.

It is high time for the government considered the woes the residents near to the clock tower garden. Vidhya, resident of East Marredpally, said, “We need the garden to be reopened for the public. It is not fair to close them on terms of security. The decision of the GHMC is hitting the genuine users. It would be lively for the families to spend time in the garden rather hanging out at commercial spaces in the city.”

BY Sushma Nagaraju