A public garden is meant to be a place where children play, senior citizens find peace and families spend quality time amidst greenery. But for the residents of Chhatrapati Nagar, Jijamata Garden has become a stark reminder of utter civic neglect. Dry lawns, withering trees, a defunct public toilet, broken compound walls, heaps of garbage, and an exposed electrical installation have left residents questioning why repeated complaints have failed to bring lasting action. Despite submitting several representations to the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), residents allege that authorities have only offered temporary fixes instead of permanent solutions, allowing the condition of the garden to deteriorate further with each passing month. Residents submitted memorandum that stated the garden’s borewell, which was the primary source of water for trees and lawns, has remained non-functional for nearly a year. Although the civic body drilled a new borewell, it has not been commissioned yet. As a result, several trees have begun drying up while the once-green lawn and has almost disappeared.

 

According to residents, after repeated complaints, local public representatives arranged water tankers on a few occasions to prevent the trees from dying. However, they say the measure was merely a short-term arrangement that failed to address the root cause. “Every complaint is followed by a temporary response, but no permanent solution is implemented. Once the temporary arrangement ends, the problems return,” residents alleged. Another major concern is the public toilet constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 18.97 lakh under a Government project at 2020, nearly six years from now. Residents claim that the facility remained functional for barely six months before becoming unusable due to lack of maintenance.

 

Today, despite significant public expenditure, the toilet remains closed and neglected. ‘The Hitavada’ made repeated attempts to contact the concerned NMC official, but received no response. Amol Chourpagar, Garden Superintendent, promised to get back with details and shared number of Laxminagar Zone concerned official but did not revert back, showcasing just how the residents concerns have been taken for granted by civic body officials. A meter box has remained open for more than two years, posing risk to all, and it seems the officials would wake up only after something happens there. The absence of a watchman has further worsened the situation. Adding to the neglect are broken boundary walls, uncollected garden waste, scattered litter and an overall lack of maintenance, all of which paint a grim picture of one of the area’s few public green spaces. This shows how crores of public money can be spent without any thought on developing new projects, but the maintenance of already existing infrastructure is too big of a task for the authorities.