Mumbai: A Mumbai-based advocate has urged the BMC to urgently address safety lapses in public parks and gardens across the city, warning that inadequate lighting and non-functional CCTV cameras are putting children, women and senior citizens at risk.
Representation Sent to Civic Chiefs and Chief Minister’s Office
In a detailed representation sent to senior civic officials and the Chief Minister’s Office, advocate Hitendra Gandhi flagged what he described as a “systemic failure” in park safety infrastructure. The complaint follows an earlier grievance regarding the children’s park attached to the walking track at Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Maidan in Chunabhatti, where he pointed out the absence of dedicated lighting in the play area and a complete lack of CCTV coverage.
Gandhi noted that the Chunabhatti case was not an isolated one. According to his submission, several parks across Mumbai either lack lights within children’s play zones or rely only on peripheral walking-track lights, leaving play equipment, entrances and internal pathways poorly illuminated. Such dark pockets, he said, increase the risk of accidents and create space for nuisance or anti-social activities.
Serious Concerns Raised Over Non-Functional CCTV Systems
The representation also highlighted serious concerns over CCTV surveillance. In many parks, cameras are either not installed or remain non-functional for long periods due to poor maintenance and lack of accountability. As an illustration, Gandhi cited the children’s garden at Hooper Garden in Matunga, where CCTV cameras have reportedly been non-functional for nearly a year, resulting in what he termed “installation on paper, but no real safety on the ground”.
Linking park safety to broader child protection concerns, the advocate referred to data showing a worrying number of missing children cases in Mumbai and across the country. While acknowledging that multiple factors contribute to such incidents, he argued that basic civic safeguards like adequate lighting and functional CCTV in family-oriented public spaces are essential preventive measures that cannot be ignored.
Proposal for Park Safety Infrastructure Programme
Calling for immediate intervention, Gandhi has proposed a “Park Safety Infrastructure Programme” that includes a ward-wise audit of lighting and CCTV in all parks, time-bound repair and installation schedules, public disclosure of audit findings, and a single grievance redressal mechanism for park safety issues. He has also sought immediate action in Chunabhatti and other parks where CCTV cameras have remained defunct for extended periods.
The complaint has been forwarded internally within the BMC for “necessary action,” according to official email correspondence, but a detailed response or timeline for implementation is awaited.
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