Residents raise concern over shrinking urban playgrounds

Residents have demanded a city-wide plan to identify lands specifically for developing playgrounds.
| Photo Credit: S.R. RAGHUNATHAN

CHENNAI

When thousands of football fans gathered at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium recently to watch the India vs. Brazil match, civic officials were faced with an unexpected challenge: there weren’t enough open playgrounds nearby for the spectators to park their vehicles. With traditional grounds, such as Kannappar Thidal, having been repurposed for housing projects, the officials had to turn to school playgrounds to manage the overflow — an incident that starkly revealed a deeper crisis facing the city: the steady disappearance of open play spaces.

The lack of accessible, dedicated playgrounds is no longer just a matter of recreation, but have a key role to play in disaster response. Urban planners and disaster response experts warn that open spaces are vital during emergencies such as earthquakes, when residents must quickly move to safe zones away from high-rises. Yet, in many of Chennai’s congested neighbourhoods, these crucial spaces have vanished under the weight of rapid infrastructure development.

As the heat soars this summer, residents across the city are demanding urgent action from the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) to restore and expand public playgrounds. Children do not have adequate space to play during summer holidays, alleged residents of various zones. While private schools conduct expensive coaching sessions, those who cannot afford them are left with few alternatives, especially when neighbourhood playgrounds are either too crowded or too far, complain parents.

Veteran sports coach and Gopalapuram resident M. Dickeshwa Shankar has witnessed this first-hand. “The GCC playground in Gopalapuram is crowded this summer like never before,” he said.

Mr. Shankar, who coached his daughters M.D. Thirushkamini and M.D. Sugaragamini on the GCC playground in Gopalapuram, when they were about six-years-old, recalled there were fewer people visiting the playground back then. “My daughters have excelled in the field because of the presence of a GCC playground in the neighbourhood when they were young. While Thirushkamini won the player of the series in her debut tournament and is an international one-day cricket player, Sugaragamini is a cricket coach now,” he said.

Stressing the civic and social importance of recreational spaces in every locality, Mr. Shankar highlighted the difficulties faced by families without private transport. “I used to take my daughters to Avichi School for training, carrying two kits on a two-wheeler. It was exhausting for them. Not every family owns a car, and every child deserves a chance to play near home,” he said. Mr. Shankar, a former hockey player, himself secured a job under the sports quota at the Chennai Port Trust, and believes playgrounds are gateways to both wellness and employment.

Civic action is starting to show, albeit slowly. In north Chennai, ward 35 councillor S. Jeevan announced that work will begin this Friday to modernise a local playground with a gymnasium using the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme funds sanctioned by MDMK general secretary Vaiko.

“We want to motivate more women in sports and are constructing a gym for girls,” Mr. Jeevan said, and added, “Of the 11 playgrounds in our ward, many are being upgraded. Youth are actively practicing judo and silambattam.”

HR&CE Minister P.K. Sekarbabu, who oversees the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority, recently inaugurated a new playground in ward 71, Jamalia, near Perambur. However, residents see these efforts as piece-meal and continue to demand a city-wide plan to identify lands specifically for developing playgrounds before it is too late.