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Hanging Gardens losing its charm?

Citizens complain the park's upkeep is being ignored, allege scam regarding solar light panels

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(Clockwise from the top) Contruction waste dumped opposite backside of Hanging Gardens; Battery case of solar lights open and missing; Directions against running blackened on the board
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Hailed as a jewel of Malabar Hill that still sees tourists coming in busloads from all over the world, Hanging Gardens, formally called Phirozshah Mehta Gardens, seems to be losing its lushness and lustre.

On request of concerned park-goers, 77-year-old Sudhir Sabhrawal -- a retired survey architect and marine engineer, who has been going to the garden since 40 years -- has compiled their woes. The four-page petition (available with DNA) starts on a melancholy note: "With the passage of time since independence, changes (work ethics, accountability and integrity) have been so immense that the existing methods of control are ineffective".

Few issues, in brief

> Seasonal flower beds are disappearing: Reduced to a handful, they are gradually being replaced by perennials, wild flowers and hedge plants. Improper fertilizers, insufficient watering and lack of timely pruning and de-rooting of weeds have turned most beds fallow.

> Superficial repairs and electric hazards posed: When resurfacing walkways, only the outer paths are repaired; the inside paths are not maintained. Electric cables are not properly ducted underground and often get trampled on, which cause great hazard.

> Dysfunctional drains: On the west-side periphery large pits have been dug next to the railing for water to drain, which is prevented presently by the new, plain steel plates that have replaced old slotted gutter grills.

> Garbage dump deprives walkers of fresh air: Garden rules disallow eating on the premises, but it's rampant especially on weekends. To make matters worse, the staff dumps all the waste outside the west-side and have even broken a small part of the railing for it. Occasionally, when the garbage is set on fire, residents are subjected to smoke and pollution, and walkers are deprived of fresh air.

> Inadequate security: The garden has three gates, but security is stationed only at the central one facing Kamala Nehru Park.

Officials break garden rules

Reiterating an instance also mentioned in the document, another garden regular, 69-year-old Bankim Almoula recalls, "Jogging/running here has always been prohibited -- because the park having been built over a reservoir, the structure below is hollow. But about a year ago, when a friend informed a garden officials, who was jogging, about it, he was told: 'What will you do? If that's the rule, i'll get it changed'. After a few days, that part of the rule written on the plaques was blackened". The reservoir is the reason that unlike most open spaces, Hanging Gardens is maintained by the municipal corporation’s hydraulics engineering (H.E.) department instead of the garden department.

Solar lights initiative, an expensive failure

Dubbed a scam among park regulars is the installation of solar lights a few years ago. The petition recognises that "the idea in itself was noble. However, no technical in - depth study appears to have been conducted".

As per the H.E. department, in 2011, 150 solar lights, costing over Rs. 50 lakhs, purchased from M/S United Agencies, were installed. The initial benefits soon overshadowed by high-maintenance requirements.

Explaining the official side, sub engineers Nagesh Dhondge said, "The corporation was testing it out as a pilot project. But we faced several technical issues, especially during rains. Moreover, due to insufficient light, the lamps weren't getting enough power. So once the batteries were down, we had to externally charge them. Such lighting would work with good institutes, but the BMC doesn't have enough staff to take care of it. We used to get lots of complaints".

But the petition blames irrational placement of solar lights for insufficient light as most are installed in the outer portion, partially under the shade of tall trees, and insufficiently weather/dust proof casing for the intense terminal leakage seen in monsoons. "At any time, only 30 - 40 per cent of the lights were functional" as per the petition.

With old light pillars, solar lights and new 'regular' lights of different shapes and sizes, citizens feel it has become a 'jungle of light poles', depreciating Hanging Gardens aesthetic value.

Animal-shaped topiaries lose structure

The digital clock, it seems, has met a similar fate and animal-shaped topiaries that the garden is known for seem to be losing structure. Many are no more recognisable.

Officially, 55 workers are employed for the park's upkeep. "Being engineers, our job is to first provide water supply; maintaining the garden is secondary. Solar lights require dedicated staff, but the AMC with purchasers is over, so for the 2018 beautification plan, we hope to use conventional lights that are easy to maintain," says Rameshwar Sawant, Assistant Engineer (Maintenance), H.E. Department.

Petition to be taken to authorities

A lady, who wished to remain anonymous said, "Deterioration is happening since a while, but we decided enough is enough after illegal constructions began taking place across the backside (north-west side)". The petition details how the corporation has been gradually 'colonising' the above mentioned area starting with living quarters for their staff, followed by hutments and now debris of paver blocks and other road construction waste.

Worried that at this rate, Hanging Gardens will "earn the dubious distinction of a seedy tourist trap" 120 people have already signed the petition, which Almoula along with D Ward corporator Jyotshna Mehta, plans to approach the corporation authorities. 

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