SUDA park in Khammam lies in state of neglect

Once served the locals as a place to relax the park is now full of weeds and wild growth due to lack of maintenance.

Khammam: The SUDA park cum Bruhat Palle Prakruthi Vanam developed on a sprawling 14.37 acres of land two year ago at Raghunathapalem near Khammam is in a state of neglect.

Once served the locals as a place to relax the park is now full of weeds and wild growth due to lack of maintenance. The figurines put up in the park are damaged and a fountain in it is not working much to the dismay of the locals.

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The park was developed with an expenditure of Rs 2.06 crore, of which Rs 1.5 crore was provided by Stambhadri Urban Development Authority (SUDA) while Rs 36 lakh was spent under MGNREGS and Rs 20 lakh was provided by Raghunathapalem gram panchayat.

The park, situated on Khammam-Yellandu road, consists of a mini tank bund developed on 4.42 acres, a fountain, walking track, open gym, children’s play area and massive plantation.

The tank bund has been developed on an area of six acres while plantation was taken up on eight acres land.

In the past sanitation workers, watchmen and pump operators used to look after the park’s maintenance, but due to lack of funds the staff stopped working. According to the gram panchayat secretary Srinivas Kumar, over Rs 2.5 lakh bills related to the park’s maintenance were pending.

Bruhat Palle Prakruthi Vanam in the park is the biggest Palle Prakruthi Vanams developed in the district during the previous BRS regime.

As many as 23,000 different varieties of plants have been planted and they are fed water through a drip system, which is now defunct.

Speaking to Telangana Today, former SUDA Chairman B Vijay Kumar informed that during the BRS regime, SUDA used to spend Rs 10 lakh annually on the park’s maintenance and now the funds are not released. Equipment in the park was stolen as there is no watchman.

Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswar Rao, who represents Khammam Assembly constituency, in which the park is located, should ensure funds release for its proper maintenance, he added.