82-year-old Sreeram, a resident of Jayanagar has been visiting the Jayanagar Park for the last four years.
Every day he comes here at 6.30 am to breathe in the fresh air and meet his friends.
Trees lining the walking area, little flower plants on the edge of the fences, canopies and seats for senior citizens to rest after their morning walk, are some of the many characteristics of Jayanagar Park which stretches over a kilometre long.
Residents of Jayanagar, J P Nagar and Banashankari visit this park frequently for recreation. Inside the park many are seen walking, chit chatting and exercising. Some senior citizens are seen resting after a long walk. Many have been frequenting this park for the past 10 years. When City Express interacted with the morning walkers and joggers, many said that the park has undergone a lot of changes over the years.
“Earlier, I used to visit the Krishna Rao Park near Basavanagudi. That park made me feel as though I am far away from the concrete world. This area used to be quiet but now you can see a lot of vehicular movement near this park,” said Sreearam.
There are group of people who spend time together talking and cracking jokes after their morning walk in the park. Jayashree Anand, Saraswathi Ram Manohar, Dharani Kongovi, Roopa Roy, Sarala Reddy, Geetha Srinivas and Hema Venkatram have formed a group here.
Every morning they visit the park by 6.30 and spend time bonding with each other till 8.30. “We are a group of 15 women. We have been visiting this park for over 10 years. Besides discussing various topics under the sun, we also share jokes with the senior citizens in the park. Every Saturday, after our morning walk we make sure that we explore the restaurants in this vicinity. Now, we have explored almost all restaurants in this area,” explained Jayashree Anand with a smile.
“Though there are many trees, seats and canopies, the park is not wellmaintained with respect to cleanliness,” said Anand S, resident of J P Nagar, 6th phase.
When asked about the changes he has seen over the years in the park, he said, “The park has lost its charm, due to the Metro construction. It's nice that the number of people visiting this park has increased, but at the same time it is important to keep the park clean.”