All work no play — roads replace parks putting kids in danger
Two years since the Delhi High Court upheld children’s right to play in parks, the directives are yet to be implemented, with kids still awaiting to reclaim their space in public parks. Complaints against residents’ welfare association brow beating kids from using parks for recreational activities as well as poorly maintained green spaces are rife in various parts of the city.
The High Court had observed that parks offered children a sense of self identity, and belonging and is an antidote to social alienation, vandalism and violence. The stats too do not speak in favour of sizeable number of parks for children. For instance, only 16 of North Delhi Municipal Corporation’s 2,920 parks are for children. While East Delhi Municipal Corporation has 2,058 parks, only 114 are for children. South Delhi Municipal Corporation has 6,400 with 190 children’s parks.
Preety Aggarwal, mayor, North DMC told DNA, “It is a common problem where kids are shunted out of parks by the elders. The situation is critical because kids need to play for holistic development. One of the solutions we are working on is to create separate playgrounds for them.”
Admitting the city has space crunch, she further said, in such scenario they would construct …read more
