The Hindu, Madhur Tankha, 05 Aug 2013, Delhi
Many children living in the city are being deprived of parks where they can indulge in their inalienable right to play
Children, irrespective of their sex, religion and nationality, have a right to play in a safe environment in their neighbourhoods.
While Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child clearly stipulates that every child has a right to play and the State should encourage them to participate in such events, children growing up in several parts of the city, particularly the congested Walled City and East Delhi areas, are being deprived of this vital element of human development due to limitation of space and the Delhi Development Authority’s negligence and lack of planning for parks.
For children living in the Walled City area, particularly in the labyrinthine lanes of Ballimaran, sports means watching satellite channels beaming football or cricket matches. With a rich and vibrant culture and once home to the world’s greatest poet Mirza Ghalib, Ballimaran is yet to have a children’s park; and the locals are annoyed by the civic authorities’ lack of concern. .
Earlier, children used to play on the Red Fort ground but after the terrorist attack in 2000, the Army has taken over the entire area and has prohibited its use.
According to Babar Kaleem, a resident of Ballimaran, parents are reluctant to send their children to Company Bagh (the nearest park) as it is frequented by unsocial elements .
“This park is unsafe for children as drug addicts frequent it. . Some children accompanied by their parents visit this park but playing is not an option there. An all-women’s park exists but it cannot be used by children because parents are not allowed inside.”
While the Walled City’s boys, obsessed with sports, peddle in their rickety bicycles to travel to Raj Ghat where they play in the sprawling park overlooking the memorial built in memory of the Father of the Nation, girls are usually deterred because of the distance.
For Zubia Mahak, a 12-year-old girl living in Kucha Pandit, playing sports in the narrow by lanes of the Walled City is fraught with danger as motorcycles zip by at frightening speeds.
Her father, Nafis, said children cannot play without any interruption because “street vendors selling dates, lemon drink or sherbet, biryani, rotis, groceries and even clothes swarm the by lanes st.”
To make matters difficult, rickshaw-pullers in a hurry to earn a quick buck at times peddle furiously and often end up hurting the children.
In East Delhi, too, the situation is not different, particularly in the congested areas of Mandawali and Vinod Nagar where the lack of civic parks is a major issue.
In the Mandawali area, DDA maintains the Mohammadi Park but the land agency has installed a board warning residents not to play cricket, hockey or football in it. As a result, they use the park for their morning walk and yoga.
A couple of children’s parks in Vinod Nagar are surrounded by open filthy nallahs.
“Playing a game of volleyball in the park means remaining to become immune to the stinking smell. Some of the more adventurous lot play but leave early because they cannot stand the obnoxious smell for long. It is high time that the municipality clean these nallahs and cover them. Otherwise they would continue to become a dumping ground and remain infested with flies,” says a resident.
Meanwhile, a sports event will be held at Ambedkar Stadium on August 6 to stress the fact that every child has a right to play. Teams from Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, Sarvodaya Vidyalaya and St. Columba’s School will play football with children of Butterflies (a voluntary organisation working with vulnerable children). The event seeks to put pressure on policymakers to ensure that every colony has well-maintained and safe parks where children can play.
Source: The Hindu
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