Mumbai: Goregaon recreational ground lies in ruins as civic neglect raises safety concerns

A spot check of a public recreational space in Goregaon by midday on Monday found it to be in an unsafe state with portions of it in ruins The infrastructure of Shahid Vijay Salskar Manoranjan Maidan in Goregaon East has remained neglected for over two years now according to locals who regularly visit the park Toilets are unusable light poles are fallen water taps stolen and benchesdecorative installations are brokenVisitors say the garden is clean and green but fixtures arenrsquot maintainedRegular visitors claim that the garden which lacks CCTV coverage becomes an addictsrsquo den at night as visitors leave around 9 pm The night trespassing has allegedly led to several damages to property which are yet to be repaired by the authoritiesA broken fixturemidday spot checkSpot Shahid Vijay Salaskar Manoranjan MaidanLocation Goregaon EastDate June 22 2026FindingshellipDecorative animals allegedly damaged by drug addictsgtgt Broken light poles with iron rods sticking outgtgt Electric wires sticking out of the broken path lights and open circuit boxes on light polesgtgt Purposefully damaged decorative animal installationsgtgt A few decorative installations which were damaged beyond repair were seen lying on the grass beds awaiting their removalgtgt Only one water tap operationalgtgt Nonoperationalbroken washrooms with no water supplygtgt Broken portions of boundary wall and damaged main gategtgt Apart from a few saplings that were on the brink of collapsing the walkways were clean and the garden was greenOrigin of issuesUneven floor mats in the childrenrsquos play areaAs per park visitors most of the damage was allegedly caused by drug addicts who have made this garden their nighttime den They trespass in the garden for illegal activities at night and cause irreversible damage to public property while they are intoxicatedStatus of problemsThe garden has only one functional tapResidents who live near the garden say past police action has helped a little in controlling the issue but maintenance and repair of damaged portions of the garden have been awaited for over two years ldquoThe garden can only be revived if BMC repairs it and the police protect it simultaneously There is just one security guard here who cannot defend himself against these large groups of drug addicts let alone the gardenrdquo stated a resident who has been a regular at the garden for 12 yearsVisitor SpeakRaghunath Mandal 31 Goregaon East residentlsquoI work nearby and visit regularly I remember the benches here were in good condition two years ago but they have deteriorated I donrsquot recall any major repair work to prevent it Most are damaged in some way The swan decoration here has disappeared completelyrsquoShivani Ambelkar 20 Virar residentlsquoIt is clean and green but one major concern is the washroom facility It has been broken and without water Ladies here have to leave the garden and go to a public washroom outsidersquoShyama Jaiswal 79 Goregaon East residentShyama Jaiswal points to a broken installation that has been lying on the grasslsquoI have been visiting this garden since it was built Its state has worsened in last 34 years Crumbled statues lie here without any removal Intoxicated individuals arrive in this garden daily by 7 pm and behave as they please They damage things around here and leave by morning for us to discover their doingsrsquoSafety concernsSandeep Gadhave shakha 52 pramukh Shiv Sena UBTlsquoSeveral area residents have reached out to me regarding the sad state of this garden Recently I received a call from a parent saying that their child got injured on the rusted slide Unauthorised persons stay the night here and with the garden in this state morning walkers are forced to ditch the public park just to stay safe The corporator should focus on the wellbeing of this park which is named after the honourable martyr Vijay SalaskarjirsquoOfficial SpeakA Civic officiallsquoWe believe that the garden is wellmaintained in terms of horticulture and cleanliness The problems that remain such as the washrooms and the boundary walls are larger and the solution cannot be a quick fix A proposal is being drafted for major repair work and we expect the work to conclude by the end of this financial year To address the trespassing and illegal activities PSouth ward has informed the local police for increased patrolling in the arearsquo