CHENNAI: Robinson Park, the birth place of DMK, is now nothing more than fallen trees, broken branches, debris and damaged electric lamp posts.
The park at Royapuram, in north Chennai, is one of the many Corporation-maintained greenery which have been closed temporarily as the compound wall has started collapsing, posing a grave threat to users.
It was exactly in this vast ground, former Chief Minister C N Annadurai in 1949 broke away from Dravidar Kazhagam, and announced formation of DMK.
The stretch where the charismatic leader shared dais with other veterans, including M Karunanidhi, V R Nedunchezhiyan, is filled with branches and smashed lampposts with power cables hanging from them.
The pavement where the party’s first meeting was convened the same evening has been damaged and hardly one can recognise a memorial stone dedicated to Annadurai that was installed there. Indeed, the legendary park was renamed as ‘Arignar Anna Park’ to mark his contribution to the development of the State.
“Nearly 40 trees were uprooted and some among them fell on the compound wall. Though we managed to move aside the trunks, the rain weakened the concrete structures which have started collapsing now,” a civic body official said requesting anonymity.
The official said the weakened structure and branches pose a serious threat to public. The park will remain closed for a week.
Though the park has three full-time employees to clear the debris, two additional staff have been roped in on a temporary basis to speed up work. However, with inadequate number of electric saws, it may take at least a fortnight to reopen the park if one goes by the current pace of work.
Several parks, particularly those at T Nagar, Anna Nagar and Kodambakkam, which acted as city’s indispensable green cover, were destroyed by the strong wind. Even after four days, not much has changed in these grounds, saving efforts by Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) to clean the mess.
Nageswara Rao park at Mylapore, one of the oldest landmarks in the city, which is associated with freedom struggle, is in shambles. Nearly half the number of trees in the four-acre facility were uprooted in the cyclone.
“The tall and broad trees here formed a canopy. Barely anything is left now,” said U Balasubramaniam, a resident who visited the park regularly since it was expanded and re-opened for public use in the late 1990s.
The scene was no different at the Tower Park at Annanagar where the cyclone left play areas and pedestrian stretches in ruins. The narrow roads connecting these parks are chocked as the debris has not been cleared yet. Huge branches along the sides posed a threat to commuters.
Three age-old parks at T Nagar – Panagal, Natesan and Jeeva parks- are also devastated and residents alleged that the civic body didn’t take necessary precautionary measures.
“By trimming tree branches, they could have easily avoided some getting tangled with live wires. Consequently, electricity poles also got damaged,” said C R Sarathi, a resident. What is causing worry to residents is that there is now no jogging and walking space for them in the parks.