KOCHI: Forget rusted see-saws and broken swings, the Children’s Park at Fort Kochi has not even had lighting for the past seven years now. Though the park has repeatedly been sanctioned funds by the Kochi Corporation, thanks to pitiable procedural delays, it has not been able to make use of any of it. The park falls right on the centre of the tourism circle in Fort Kochi. An amount of `1,63,000 was allotted to the park after a notice on the need to renovate the park was sent to the Kochi Corporation in 2010. By the time the amount was passed, it was late August and the project cost had shot up. After that a new estimate was again taken and the rate was revised to `1,77,000. Now for the money to be allotted, the entire process has to be repeated. In the meantime, the park, a central tourist attraction for the tourists, lies in rust and ruins. During the last New Year Carnival Season held in Fort Kochi, the children’s stadium had no lights and the corporation had to manage with the decorative lights sourced from outside. None of the children who arrived at the park took the risk of playing on the swings or the slides.“There has been no lights for over seven years now. We have given repeated requests to the Kochi Corporation to renovate the park but to no avail,” said Kochi Corporation councillor Antony Kureethara. Moreover, situated on a vulnerable area, the chances of the Children’ Park turning into a anti-social site doesn’t seem to far away.“The whole area is vulnerable due to the presence of foreigners and other persons. So we have ensured heavy patrolling and thus no anti-social activity has been reported yet. We had brought the issue to the attention of the corporation before the carnival last year. But it was not followed up,” said Sub-Inspector V Vimal.
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