Park at 12th Avenue in Ashok Nagar gives up slovenliness for a smart look

Greater Chennai Corporation park on 65th Street in 12th Avenue, Ashok Nagar being improved

In its daily rhythm, the park is having its “shuteye moment”. It is late afternoon, and the park’s evening schedule is less than an hour’s walk-into-the-future away. Already, an elderly man is chaffing at the leash. He is standing at the gate waiting for it to be thrown open for him to stomp his way determinedly to fitness. The concrete benches and pavements carry the confident air of someone who has finally shrugged off a slovenly look and started grooming themselves again. When the gates open for the evening, the play area would turn into a Piccadily Circus. The play equipment having been either repaired or replaced, the attendance at the park has swelled in recent days.

That is a picture of the Greater Chennai Corporation park on 65th Street in 12th Avenue, Ashok Nagar. It has finally given up its stubborn slovenliness and recovered from a long-lasting “brokenness”. In an article in its edition dated November 19, 2023, The Hindu Downtown had called for the refurbishment of the park.

A polygonal structure with six wings and ladders of same number is a far cry from what it looked not too long ago. A hook missing, a swing or two were hanging like the limp wing of a wounded bird. In some, the chains were fastened wide apart, which would affect the swing movement throwing a dampener on the entire experiment.

See-saws look bright and inviting and they had once sported a battered look. Play equipment that once were lying on the ground are back at the post. On March 1, 2024, when The Hindu Downtown revisited the park, on learning from residents that the facility has been restored, the last of the loose ends were being tied. A team of workers was attending to a spiraling ladder, and a spiraling slide lying nearby was next in line for their attention.