Kharghar residents carry out beautification work to protect playground from encroachment

In a bid to save a playground from encroachment and dumping of debris, residents of Kharghar have joined hands to carry out the beautification work surrounding it.

They planted 120-odd indigenous saplings around six months ago at the periphery of this ground at Sector 35-H Plot No. 1, Kharghar. These saplings are now tagged manually with details about the kind of plant and the name of the person nurturing it. The plot was allotted by CIDCO for the purpose of playground.

“This plot, as per the city plans of CIDCO, is earmarked for a playground but has been in shambles and is getting encroached for illegal activities like debris dumping, etc. Fearing that the playground will be lost to encroachments, we residents decided to start some beautification work,” said a resident and member of Kharghar Taloja Colonies Welfare Association (KTCWA), Jyoti Nadkarni.

KTCWA has been taking up matters with CIDCO over the past five years. It is under the aegis of KTWCA that the residents have undertaken the initiative of preserving the playground.

“This ground, like almost all other open grounds in the node, has become a hub of numerous illegal activities. Last year, an attempt to set up an illegal garage was prevented after residents formed a human chain on the ground,” said the chairperson of the association, Mangesh Ranawade.

To keep a tab on the status of the saplings, the process of geo tagging was also done. “The plantation drive was a very thought-out process wherein only indigenous plants of vibrant coloured leaves have been planted specifically in the boundary to yield shades and colours in future. Additionally, we have asked residents to adopt the plants and names are being tagged to ensure that the saplings are nurtured properly,” added Ranawade.

Further activities include developing a herbal garden, replanting saplings that didn’t survive and mobilising CIDCO to develop the plot with a jogging track and a playing field.

A senior CIDCO official from the engineering department claimed that the nodal executive engineer would look into the matter.