Maya dream park turns nightmare

This is what The Indian Express came across during a visit to the complex: no maintenance, no water in the canal, piles of filth and stinking toilets. Besides, power to the park stayed cut for over a month this year due to unpaid bills.

The result is obvious. The number of visitors has dipped to an all-time low of barely 2,000 per day from a high of 15,000.

Fingers are now being pointed at the Mulayam Singh government, with Mayawati’s Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) accusing it of harbouring an ‘‘anti-Dalit mentality’’ and letting the park rot.

The official reply? Typically vague. Says Raj Kamal Gupta, Special Secretary, UP Tourism: ‘‘I do not know if tourist numbers have dwindled at the park. There is no such information with us that the park is not being maintained.’’

All this while, life continues to ebb out of the complex. ‘‘The government has refused to pay us for the park’s maintenance. They owe us almost Rs 20 lakhs in dues,’’ says Santosh Kumar, general manager (commercial) of Uttar Pradesh Rajkiya Nirman Nigam (UPRNN), a private organisation that constructed this park and maintained it on Mayawati’s directives.

But, since the change of government last August, not a single UPRNN official or worker has stepped into the park.

The Lucknow Development Authority (LDA), a government agency, is also looking the other way. ‘‘ We do not have the resources to maintain the park,’’ says a senior LDA official, who does not wish to be named. A handful of LDA officials are currently posted there for ‘‘issuing tickets and security’’.

During the park’s glory days, nearly 80 sweepers and 40 gardeners of the UPRNN were on duty around the clock. ‘‘Now, all the grass has got burnt due to the intense heat and no watering. The watering system is still in place, but there is no one to do the job. The brief rain was the only saving grace,’’ adds the LDA official.

Another attraction, boating on the canal, is just a dream. Even the fountains are dry.

The elaborate lighting system crashed in March-April after the State Government failed to pay the mounting bill. ‘‘The park was in complete darkness for a month. Ultimately, the BSP workers put pressure to ensure that the park saw light on April 14, Ambedkar Jayanti,’’ says the official.

The Mayawati government had also deployed a 384-strong ‘‘Ambedkar Force’’ at the park for security, which has now been disbanded.

According to Sudhir Goel, BSP spokesman, ‘‘Denying maintenance grant for this national monument is a manifestation of an anti-Dalit mentality. The park was constructed during BSP leader Mayawati’s rule to commemorate Dr Ambedkar, who made the Indian Constitution. It is a national heritage.’’

Tourists, meanwhile, remain the worst-affected. ‘‘They keep complaining of lack of drinking water and the rising piles of garbage. They are even questioning the rationale behind levying an entry fee of Rs five per person, due to the lack of any service,’’ says the LDA official, manning the deserted ticket counter.