No swings, no slides, no fun: Indira park under fire
HYDERABAD: Many residential colony open spaces are now used for motorcycle parking. In Indira Park, children’s playground equipment has remained damaged for over a year. Consumer rights activist Ramagiri Hari Babu is challenging the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), arguing the city has deprived children of recreational opportunities.
It started with a phone call from his family. Ramagiri Hari Babu, State President of the Telangana Consumer Rights Organization, sent his wife and children to Indira Park during a holiday, one of the few public parks in the Kavadiguda area of Secunderabad, hoping to provide them a break from digital devices. However, his children called him and explained about the lack of facilities. When he visited the park he found playground equipment, including zigzags, slides, and swings, was broken. When he enquired a security guard reportedly confirmed it had been neglected for over a year.
Speaking to HyderabadMail, Ramagiri Hari Babu, Telangana State President of the Consumer Rights Organisation, said, “That is the only option we have. We take our children to improve their health and encourage physical activity. If there is no playground equipment, what purpose does Indira Park serve? Trees and walking paths alone do not attract children.”
In addition, for Hari Babu, the broken playground equipment at Indira Park was the last straw in an ongoing systemic issue. In the Kavadiguda neighborhood, part of the Musheerabad constituency and Kavadiguda division, open spaces in residential colonies have steadily been converted into parking areas. Apartment complexes housing dozens of families now accommodate 30 to 40 motorcycles in every available ground-level space. Footpaths are obstructed. Areas once designated for children’s recreation are now used for vehicle parking. Commercial encroachments exacerbate the problem, as shops and businesses extend into spaces not zoned for commercial use.
Moving forward, Hari Babu highlights both physical and behavioural impacts. Without proper recreational spaces or functioning playground equipment, children resort to using mobile phones and watching television. His family discourages excessive screen time, so they frequent parks instead. However, when parks are inaccessible or lack facilities, children have no alternative but to return to digital devices.
Meanwhile, at Indira Park, children’s playground equipment has been in disrepair for over a year. The park has not received maintenance or repair funding. Security staff confirm the ongoing neglect. Despite these issues, visitors continue to pay admission fees.
Hari Babu’s demands are straightforward, calling for the restoration of neighborhood playgrounds and the repair of park equipment.
