Cuddle without fear

MUMBAI: A park meant exclusively for couples was once an idea that played only on the minds of lovers who endured lock-up stints on obscenity charges. But the idea, whose time has presumably come, has now gained the respectability of a civic suggestion.

Suvarna Mhandalkar, a newly elected corporator from Ward 31 (Malad), told ward-committee members during a recent meeting that she supported young people’s urgent demand for love gardens.

However, Manik Kshirsagar, the assistant municipal commissioner (P North Ward), told DNA that Mhandalkar’s idea was only a suggestion and not a proposal.

“The chairman and other corporators seem positive about the demand,” Kshirsagar said. “We will look into the proposal if it comes to us.”

P Naringrekar, the superintendent of gardens, said he has not discerned an imperative necessity for such gardens so far.

“Our planning is based on the demands of residents,” Naringrekar said. “We will look into the matter only if such a need is articulated.”

Meanwhile, acts such as reclining on companion’s lap — in or around unauthorised shrubbery — is deemed ‘indecent’ by Section 110 of the Mumbai Police Act.