THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Poor maintenance has left the Captain Lakshmi Park, redeveloped at a cost of Rs 1.92 crore under the Smart City Mission, in a deplorable state. Among the busiest in the city since its reopening in 2022, the park is visited by hundreds every day.
Now, the visitors are welcomed by broken and neglected playground and exercise equipment, heaps of plastic and other accumulated waste, and heavily polluted ponds.
“The apathetic attitude of the city corporation and the Smart City Thiruvananthapuram Ltd (SCTL) has left the park in a state of neglect, leaving the citizens frustrated,” said Lalitha K, a regular visitor to the Captain Lakshmi Park.
“I come here with my children most of the days and it’s clearly ill-maintained. They never made the ponds within the park operational and the stagnant water is filthy and a breeding ground for mosquitoes.”
She said green spaces and parks are important and it is disheartening to see that the authorities are neglecting them, given the amount of money spent.
“The park had remained inaccessible for the public for many years and we were so happy that it was redeveloped and reopened. But they should protect and maintain such spaces,” Lalitha said.
The overgrown creepers and bushes have turned the play areas unsafe for children, and the parents and the elderly are voicing safety concerns. “There is no proper waste management. Especially after the opening of the shop inside the park, waste generation has increased. We can see waste dumps and accumulated plastic at every corner. It’s becoming unsafe for children because of overgrown bushes,” said Rajesh, a local resident.
The SCTL and the city corporation are, however, passing the buck.
“SCTL hasn’t officially handed over the park to us. It’s their responsibility to operate and maintain the park. We recently inspected the park and found many issues. We have asked them to rectify all these issues,” said a corporation official.
The official said that the civic body cannot do much without the SCTL handing over the facility.
“We want all issues to be rectified before we take over and have officially communicated the matter with the Smart City authorities. The agency engaged by SCTL for operation and maintenance is not doing its job. The contract is between the SCTL and the agency,” the corporation official added.
Meanwhile, an SCTL official said all issues will be rectified. “We are in talks with the corporation and will arrive at a solution soon. We have completed the work and the civic body should take over the park. We are planning to carry out a final renovation at the park in the immediate future. Once the Phase II development is over, all issues will be addressed,” the SCTL official said.