Juhu residents win another open space……Sukhada Tatke
Park On Beachfront To Be Open In 15 Days
Park On Beachfront To Be Open In 15 Days
Mumbai: In less than a fortnight,citizens in Juhu will have gifted themselves a park,developed on land they fought hard for years to win back.
Six plots on the Juhu beachfront had been run over by encroachments for several years.A court battle and follow-ups with various authorities later,residents finally reclaimed the land.Now one of those plots will house a park open to all citizens,which will encourage physical and sporting activities.
The gardenmeasuring 1,562 sq mis one of the six plots on and along the beach that were freed of encroachments in 2004,following a high court order.
However,there was no clarity on who owned the land,so it was mostly used by people to park their cars.
But residents associations pursued the issue and subsequently the collector handed over the plots to them for development.This garden,now known as the Nippon Garden,is the fifth of the gardens to be developed.It is located along the beach side of Hotel Horizon near Nippon Housing Society.
According to residents,Juhu has several schools but children dont have enough space to actually participate in sporting activities.Taking club memberships is beyond the reach of many.
The idea was to develop something that people could use to practise sport and exercise.We have created walkways and parallel bars, said corporator Adolf DSouza.DSouza used Rs 5 lakh from his corporators fund to develop the park.
All these years,the plot had restricted entry as people didnt even know it was public property.The adjacent building had claimed it to be their property and also restricted entry to the plot as couples would create a nuisance at the place at night.Now once this garden is ready,we will make an inviting entrance and put up a board that announces the park to be public property and that everyone can use the ground, he added.
Residents have also decided to use their own expertise in training others.
Vasant Naik (75),a former athlete himself and a Juhu resident said that he was willing to provide guidance to young talent.
There are several talented children but they dont get a platform.With the availability of this ground,we can spot talented children and send them for district and state level competitions, he said.
Hansel DSouza of the Juhu Citizens Welfare Group,who has been spearheading the Juhu beach beautification project,of which the garden is a part,said that there is another plot of land remaining to be developed.
Once that is done,we will have maintained and developed six gardens along the beach, he said.
* The park which will be opened to all citizens within a fortnight