4 years and counting, Thane residents still waiting for resurfacing of Gaondevi Maidan

Four years on, the residents of Naupada are still awaiting the resurfacing of the Gaondevi Maidan that was dug up by the Thane Municipal Corporation for construction of an underground parking facility.

The parking was opposed by residents who claimed that they would lose their only open space in the area. However, the corporation has claimed that they would restore the ground within two years. Now, four years later, residents have again taken up the issue, demanding the ground back to its usual glory.

The corporation has claimed that the work on the underground parking has been completed and it will soon be made available to the residents. However, they have not given any assurance regarding the restoration of the ground that was dug for the parking.

In March, the corporation had claimed that the ground would be restored before the monsoon. This has also not been fulfilled.

The local residents had opposed the parking as it would destroy the playground. Social activist Mahesh Bedekar had approached the High Court requesting to save the open space. The corporation had then given an affidavit to the court claiming that the work would be completed in two years and the ground would be restored.

Bedekar, who sent a letter to the corporation earlier this week, said, “I have requested the commissioner to expedite the parking project and restore the ground as per the commitment. The Gaondevi Maidan was the only space in Naupada for children to play. As a city, we have neglected our open spaces and now there are less open spaces for children and senior citizens. The ground at Gaondevi has been closed for four years now.”

The work on the ground has been going on since early 2019.

Satish Belose, a 24-year-old resident, said that he and his friends used to play cricket at the ground from a young age. “The open spaces in the city are already depleting. With this ground too out of bounds, we have to go to the Central Ground to play cricket. The Gaondevi ground, though, was near the railway station and thus was even convenient for people staying out of the city. It has been more than four years now that we don’t have a ground here. The corporation should restore it as the work on the parking lot is completed.”

There is no proper parking facility near Thane station, leading to illegal and haphazard parking in the station area. This leads to congestion and chaos at the station during the peak hours. TMC has, thus, come up with the idea of an underground parking at Gaondevi ground. The ground being an open space and one of the oldest grounds that witnessed lot of political rallies cannot be used for pay and park, and thus the plan to make the parking underground.

A civic official said, “The work of the parking lot is completed. We are conducting safety audits of the fire and lighting systems at present. We have also called for a tender to operate and maintain the parking for which seven bidders have come forward. Once the monsoon is over, we’ll resurface the ground and open it for the local residents.”

The underground parking will be developed on the area of 4,330sqm. It will have space to park 130 cars and 120 two-wheelers. This will be a paid parking facility and the first plaza near Thane station by the corporation. The cost of the project is around ₹26Cr.

Apart from the Gaondevi parking, the TMC has planned to redevelop the government and police offices in the old market area and the State Transport bus stop near Thane station and accommodate a parking plaza for over 800 to 1,000 vehicles. This will ease most of the congestion near the station area due to illegally-parked vehicles. The State had recently given a go ahead for the same.