'Please don't take our playground'

Pune Municipal Corporation PMC commissioner Mahesh Pathak has managed to earn the criticism of a singular section of the populace mdash preteens The civic bodyrsquos decision to develop a Bal Thackeray memorial on a segment of the Garware Balbhavan playground has not gone down well with the kids and their parents Land wars The municipal commissioner who is also a member of Balbhavanrsquos executive body has received more than a few letters on the issue in recent days Many parents are now planning to organise a demonstration PicKrunal Gosavi ldquoWhere do we play if our land is taken awayrdquo is the question on the lips of hundreds of children some of whom have articulated this before the authorities Pathak who is also a member of Balbhavanrsquos executive body has received more than few letters on the issue in the last few days Many parents are now planning to organise a demonstration against what they see as grave injustice ldquoIf you take the land than where shall we playrdquo asked Tamanna in her letter to the municipal commissioner ldquoSir please donrsquot take away our playgroundrdquo requested Poonam Sachdev ldquoBuilding Balasahebrsquos memorial is good but not for us because wersquoll have no place to playrdquo remarked Anu Agashe ldquoThe childrenrsquos playground should remainrdquo requested Prachi Kale ldquoI have sweet memories of the ground Please donrsquot take them away from merdquo said Koel Sancheti names of the kids have been changed The childrenrsquos parents too have urged the municipal commissioner to reconsider the decision by writing a letter ldquoIf nothing happens wersquoll have to agitaterdquo said one of themu00a0Shobha Bhagwat founderdirector Balbhavan said ldquoWe are not against the creation of the memorial But it should not be done at the cost of our childrenrsquos playground Playing is the right of every child and nobody can take that away Having fun while it lasts Kids enjoy their playtime at Balbhavan playground PMCrsquos General Body is expected to sanction the Thackeray memorial in the next two days File pic Our twoacre plot has been officially approved by PMCrsquos General Body in 1979 on the occasion of celebration of International Year of the Child The Balbhavanrsquos sportscumpersonality development activity has inspired over 200 organisation in Pune alonerdquou00a0Meanwhile Shiv Sena group leader Ashok Harnawal has championed the issue of the memorial by asking for the Balbhavan land to be vacated as the contract between Om Charit Trust and PMC has expired in 2009 ldquoBalbhavan is illegally using the land because it can only lay claim on the part where its building stands The remaining plot belongs to the civic bodyrdquo he argued RT Shinde deputy commissioner land acquisition department PMC said ldquoThe agreement between the civic body and the private trust was only for the period between 1993 and 2009 Balbhavan can retain the land only if it is ready to pay the rent as per the new tendering procedure At present it is paying Rs 11000 per year and this is likely to go uprdquo ldquoWe are not asking for the entire land The backside has not been given to Balbhavan We had given the tract at the front of the building for the playground on minimal rate of Rs 11015 per year whereas Balbhavan is charging Rs 500 from each child The contract of using the land is already over Wersquoll make a new contract which will be as per fresh set of rules This is PMCrsquos land and I have to look into the term and conditions that existed earlier Similarly Shiv Sena had asked for a part of the land for an art gallery The issue has to be tackled by the respective departments like building permission and land acquisition Shiv Sena has to decide whether that plot is adequate for them or notrdquo the municipal commissioner said Vandana Chavan Rajya Sabha MP Nationalist Congress Party said ldquoIt is wrong to take away the playground for erecting a memorial Even Bal Thackeray would not have approved of this idea I will put my opinion before the municipal commissioner and also submit a letter on thisrdquo Mayor Vaishali Bankar too made her disapproval of the proposal apparent ldquoNobody can use a childrenrsquos playground for other purposes Our leader and deputy CM Ajit Pawar had categorically instructed us that schools and playgrounds should be left for kids without imposing any conditionsrdquo Incidentally PMCrsquos General Body is expected to sanction the memorial in the next two days for which Rs 70 lakh will be diverted from the lsquoother expensesrsquo in the municipal budget ldquoIf the proposal gets approved we may lose about an acre of land where we have tents hoops tree houses etc for kids We already have a small tract of land and the new issue will add to our woesrdquo lamented Shobha Bhagwat lsquoNew lease of lifersquo BJP corporators Smita Vaste and Madhuri Sahasrabudhe had made a resolution for the PMC General Body meeting over the Garware Balbhavan playground issue They urged the PMC commissioner to renew the contract of 27year old Balbhavan because of its noble efforts towards personality development of children by providing them an area to play and also involving them in cultural activities Vaste had also approved a skating rink project for children in Balbhavan u00a0