mid-day Garden Audit: Can you find your way to the Kurla's Eknath Koparde garden

While the handful of play equipment is rusting away, the benches here

The centre of a maze: it would appear that's where Kurla's Eknath Koparde garden stands, especially to someone new to the area. One needs to manoeuvre their way through the many shops and residential buildings to find the nondescript lane where it's nestled. You will be given just one clue: find the broken autorickshaw, because behind that is hidden the entrance to this garden.

So, now that you have reached there, you can see that you are among the tiny handful of visitors, if any. On a good day, the average footfall the place sees is just 100, it's in that poor a condition. When mid-day paid a visit over the weekend, there were hardly 10 other people in the evening.

Are broken and the boundary wall has collapsed into the adjoining society Proemises. Pics/Sneha Kharabe

No one's first choice
Had the place been properly maintained, it has a lot to offer visitors. A huge age-old banyan tree right next to the entrance offers some cool comfort, from heat as well as a downpour, and a little way is a shaded section with benches. But this is where comes the 'but' - the benches are broken and the entire section is filthy.

Around two years back, the boundary wall of the garden had come crashing down into the compound of an adjacent building. While undergoing repairs, 10 days back, it collapsed again. A local said, "A jogging track lines the boundary wall, and aside from walkers and joggers, children play and run on it all the time. It could easily have become a huge tragedy."

Others this correspondent spoke to said they prefer visiting another garden not far from here, as it is better maintained. Rita Gupta, a mother of two, who was at the Koparde garden that evening for lack of a choice, said. "We don't come here. There is another one nearby where I usually take my kids. It being shut today, I brought them here.

"The biggest issue here is the utter lack of maintenance. Besides that, there isn't proper security on the premises; I don't feel safe sending or bringing my children here."

Sachin Prajapati, an advocate who stays in the area, seconded Gupta. "They don't even bother to clean it regularly; and then, vagabonds and miscreants come here to smoke and make it dirtier," he said.

Sixteen-year-old Kajal Kale, who was visiting with her friend, said, "A few men sit behind the tree and smoke cigarettes. They even ogle at girls."

The big three
While the collapsed boundary wall is a source of discomfort, as well as a worry from the security point of view, what's worse is that the debris is still lying as is. Officials have put up temporary fencing around it but not done anything to get it up again.

Overall security is a major issue here as there is no guard on the premises either, just a middle-aged caretaker, who, say locals, doubles up as a security guard. When mid-day tried to speak to him, he refused to talk, saying he had work, but minutes later, this correspondent found him sitting idly in a corner.

There are no lights to illuminate the place after dark, making it risky for citizens and a haven for anti-socials. The garden also lacks basic amenities for visitors, such as a drinking water facility; and while, there is some play equipment for children, it lies covered in rust due to lack of maintenance.

Officialspeak
Local NCP corporator Saeeda Khan said, "Initially, I had planned for a bird park, but norms don't allow that. Nonetheless, by the end of June, administrative work of the garden should finish. A team of architects had come in with a design for the garden, which has been approved. I want my ward to be green and beautiful, and I will ensure it is done." L ward officer Ajit Kumar Ambi did not respond to mid-day's calls or messages.

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