Once a vibrant place that hosted cricket tournaments, various religious events like Ganesh festival and Durga Puja and cultural programmes - Subhash Nagar ground situated behind Viveka Hospital has now turned into a dumping ground and dying a slow death. Residents living around the ground are running from pillar to post to for getting their grievances heard and protect the open land. Unfortunately, their complaints are unheard and remain unattended giving the miscreants an upper hand to carry on with works according do their own will. Lt Col Anirudh Deshpande (Retd.), a resident of Subhash Nagar, has expressed his disappointment and frustration over the ground’s sad state of affairs. “The ground’s open space instead of providing us relief has now became our headache. The problems are plenty. It is now being used for dumping construction material and the mud that is excavated for the development works carried around the area, is being liberally piled-up on the existing dump,” he said.

 

With the civic authorities turning blind eye towards slow degradation of the playground, seizing the opportunity, a resident has started a puncture repairing shop and encroached one end of the ground. Over the year, a temple has come up inside the ground with plans to construct a stage for hosting cultural events. Also, pipes, hand carts and four wheelers are eating the remaining part of the ground. The area around the green gym is not maintained. Another corner of the ground is also encroached upon by erection of tin sheds. A plan was to start an oxygen plant during COVID-19. The pandemic is over but the encroachment still remains. Vehicles visiting the commercial establishment in the area are using the area surrounding the ground's boundary wall for parking of vehicles.