dog-owners

pets

Cubbon Park

Bengaluru

Many visitors aksed for more toilets, drinking water and installation of direction boards for the benefit of visitors coming to the park from other places –Kosalo Chakma, volunteer

By Y Maheswara ReddyIs the fact that mostare careless about theirmaking a mess; drinking water facilities, more toilets and sign boards figure in list of requirements at the parkIt seems dog poop is raising quite a stink in. This is one of the takeaways from a survey conducted on Sunday to know from the visitors about the immediate requirements, amenities and the measures to be taken up to make a visit to the park a pleasant one. Such a survey is being conducted in the park, an important lung space in Central Business District (CBD) area, perhaps for the first time in its history.Though Cubbon Park is the only park inwhere dogs have a designated space, most visitors expressed disgust over the nuisance created by dogs in the park. They want the people bringing dogs to Cubbon Park to be responsible and clean up after their pets.“A majority of the dog owners who come to the Cubbon Park never bother to do anything about dog poop. They have to clean it properly since it is a nuisance for the visitors,’’ says Vani, a homemaker from Rajarajeshwari Nagar.Expressing similar opinion, Sadashiva Bhat, a resident of Girinagar, said dogs have become a hurdle for the children to walk and play. “I want the dog owners to be with their pets. Most of them just take their pets off the leash and sit in the park,’’ he added.Around 30 volunteers interacted with around 200 visitors to know their suggestions and recommendations to improve the infrastructure in the park. “Most visitors wanted more toilets, drinking water and installation of direction boards for the benefit of visitors coming to Cubbon Park from other places. Some visitors asked the authorities to ensure more greenery in the park. A few suggested the authorities install more dustbins to ensure cleanliness in the park,’’ says Kosalo Chakma, a techie who volunteered to get feedback from visitors to the park.Many visitors expressed concern over the lack of drinking water and concrete benches in Cubbon Park.“There is no information on where drinking water is available. I come with my family members. Women find it tough to locate toilets. There should be more toilets for women and senior citizens,’’ said Manjunath, a resident of Hanumanthanagar.Coming down heavily on the authorities concerned for not providing basic amenities in Cubbon Park, S Umesh, president, Cubbon Park Walkers’ Association, said the authorities have not bothered to repair the reverse osmosis (RO) unit situated near State Central Library.“The RO unit became defunct a month ago but the authorities are yet to fix it. Visitors are having to buy water from vendors,’’ says Umesh.The survey report is expected to be submitted to the department of horticulture within three to four days.Meanwhile, Deputy Director of Horticulture (Cubbon Park) Mahantesh Murugod said that all would be done to ensure facilities in Cubbon Park.“I will direct my subordinates to fix the RO unit by Monday. As far as the survey report is concerned, let them submit to me. I will certainly attend to genuine complaints and demands,’’ says Murugod.Recently, Cubbon Park Walkers’ Association had invited college students and other volunteers to assist it to conduct a survey on basic amenities and issues related to Cubbon Park.