Pune: Parks, gardens to be closed again from tomorrow June 18 

Mehab Qureshi

Pune, June 16, 2020: The number of Covid-19 patients is increasing and so are the deaths. What do you want to achieve by opening the parks? asked mayor Murlidhar Mohol and requested the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to close all the parks two days ago. Today, PMC issued an order to close all the 33 parks which were opened a few days ago. 

Mohol insisted on closing down the parks saying that priority should not be given to things that are not needed when there is already insufficient staff. Also, it has been observed that citizens are not practising social distancing. The staffs have been appointed to monitor the visitors to the park. The decision has been taken after discussions with the officials of the PMC garden department.

Four main reasons for the decision to close the park:

•  Senior citizens and children have low immunity. Playground equipment can increase the risk of the spread of COVID-19.
• Doctors say that masks shouldn’t be worn while exercising as it causes breathing difficulties.
• After the opening of the parks, hawkers will be out, so additional staffs have to be deployed there.
• The reopening of gardens may lead to an increase in the spread of the disease.  

“Measures are being taken to prevent corona. It is not safe to start public places. Children and senior citizens come in large numbers to the park, but preventive measures aren’t being taken. Therefore, it has been decided to close the park. At present, the hills and grounds are open for walking, so the decision to start the park is not in the interest of the society, we will consider it in the future”, said Mohol.