Plea to help ‘wilting’ plants at the GCC park on MGR Road in Kalakshetra Colony

The plants at the GCC park on MGR Road in Kalakshetra Colony in Thiruvanmiyur wear a lacklustre look due to non-functional sprinklers. The occasional shower witnessed these days is a saving grace, say residents | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement At Kalakshetra Colony in Thiruvanmiyur, this Greater Chennai Corporation park is tucked squarely into the intersection of two roads named after two evergreen heroes of Tamil Nadu politics. This park in Ward 179 is located at the point where Karunanidhi Road meets MGR Road. While those leaders’ memory is hallowed and stays evergreen and fresh, the park connected with their memory indirectly is losing its green.On the evening of July 17, when The Hindu Downtown made a visit to the park, at the behest of a representative of Kalakshetra Colony Welfare Association (KCWA), the sprinklers turned on, as if on cue. These sprinklers were in the skies and not on the ground. It started raining, heavily, accelerating to hundred the way those beastly supercars do. The sprinklers on the ground however were unmoved; and going by MGR Road resident and KCWA executive committee member Bharati Sadasivam’s account of their performance in recent months, they are “sedentary” or erratic.Some sprinklers do not work, and those that do, function ineffectively, pooling water in just one area: that is Bharati’s performance appraisal report for the sprinklers. Here are Bharati’s thoughts, reproduced verbatim, about what the park means to residents of Kalakshetra Colony and what has become of the park now with particular reference to the health of its plants.“This modest walkers’ park is a green refuge for those of us who frequent it mornings or evenings. It is the only one of its kind for miles around, with more than 25 varieties of plants and trees, crowned by the mandaarai, magnificent in its season. You can walk your chosen number of steps under its canopy of green. Quite often on a humid evening you can catch a delicious breeze as you turn at the southwest corner, despite the encircling buildings. For a time, you can ignore the whine and grind of encroaching construction sites nearby.“Bharati’s account continues: “Sprinklers were installed some months ago but they do not work properly. The workers damaged parts of the walkers’ track while doing this and did not carry out repairs despite numerous complaints. The walls were repainted some months ago but not the benches which badly need a fresh coat of paint.” Anyone who has rubbed shoulders with KCWA members is likely to have heard about what the park sprung from: “a rubbish dump salvaged and converted into a green space by a few civic minded residents, notably the late Mr. Krishnamoorthy who lived next door.”KCWA has been taking a keen interest in the park’s maintenance, trouble shooting whenever needed, taking the issues for resolution to the local Corporation official, and sometimes, escalating matters to the councillor of Ward 179.At the time of this article going to print, a local Corporation official told The Hindu Downtown the issue pertaining to the sprinklers will be resolved soon. Published - July 18, 2026 06:19 pm IST