ADILABAD: IT may sound shocking but Adilabad town, which used to have around 30 parks, is now left with just 10 as the 20 others have been encroached upon by real estate mafia even as the municipal authorities neglect the duty of providing lung spaces for its urban populace. Alarmingly, even the remaining 10 parks are on a shaky ground and they too may vanish if strict action is not taken in time. Take for instance, the Hamidpura Park. Although it is located in the heart of Adilabad, morning walkers avoid it and go to the stadium. Reason: the park does not have proper facilities. Recently, administration has allocated Rs 50 lakh for its development.
The work on the development of Tatiguda Park was stopped within a few days of the allocation of Rs 45 lakh, leaving the park in the poor condition. Some others — Kargil Park, Badkhamoulla Park, Bhukthapur Park and others — were also allotted funds but the civic authorities have taken no steps for their development. Municipal executive engineer P J Veerabhadra Rao said works were in progress in three parks.
The fact, however, is that the contractor undertook the work for just a couple of days and then stopped it. Municipal officials, who did nothing to stop encroachment, said that the corporation was taking steps for the development of seven parks under the AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation). Same is the situation in Nirmal, Mancherial and Kumrambheem districts.