ELURU: The only entertainment and refreshment spots in Eluru city, the parks, are now becoming dens of nefarious activities, thanks to the negligence of officials and government machinery.
Eluru lacks entertainment or refreshment spots for the public to spend their evenings and holidays. The only option is to visit a movie theatre or parks. Most people prefer to visit the parks in the evening, especially with children.
There are seven parks in the city. Of these, Ramachandrarao Pet and Badeti parks in Powerpet are the oldest. Lakhs of people have visited these two parks over decades, and it was only during early 2000 that Brindavan Park in Pathebada was constructed by filling the existing drinking water tank called Fatehbada Cheruvu. Later, two Janmabhoomi parks, on the bank of Tammileru rivulet near Collector office became the hotspot of the public. The century-old Badeti Park was closed as part of the removal of encroachments on Eluru-Krishna Canal.
In 2003, the then Collector Sanjay Jaju, decided to develop the park for the benefit of the public. He supervised the construction and maintenance of Janmabhoomi parks and directed municipal authorities to construct another park opposite to the then municipal office. Three parks were developed and well maintained during his tenure. After transfer of Sanjay Jaju in 2004, the maintenance of the parks was handed over to private contractors.
From then onwards, the two Janmabhoomi parks and Damaraju Venkatrao Municipal Park, opposite corporation office, have become useless. The only place that people visit during evenings is Ramachandrarao Pet Park. Later, former Collector Vani Prasad developed Gajjalavari Cheruvu as Buddha Park and erected a tall statue of Buddha. He also introduced boating facility nearby after which the park started witnessing steady increase in crowd. People also prefer Brindavanam Park.
Meanwhile, due to lack of security and maintenance, Janmabhoomi and corporation parks became a haven for anti-social activities like prostitution and ganja sale. Even the Municipal Corporation Park, opposite to corporation office and near to One Town Police Station has become home to anti-social activities. Empty liquor bottles and condoms are found everywhere. People hesitate to visit the park as they are afraid of anti-social elements and snakes, often found in the area. It has also become a den for people who sell saplings of flowering plants. The people are demanding that the officials take steps to develop these parks.