Theme parks take a back seat

Hyderabad: The much-hyped theme parks project in the state capital is now kept on the back burner due to fund crunch. Though Mayor Bonthu Ram Mohan announced theme parks in all the zones of twin cities, the project is kept aside, owing to acute budgetary constraints being faced by Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).

Nearly 50 parks with a budget of over Rs 100 crore await commencement of works in the city. The themes decided upon by the biodiversity department of the GHMC are: rain water harvesting, dog park, Swachh Hyderabad, traffic, children, butterfly, Telangana heritage and rock garden. The main objective of developing these parks is to bring practical awareness among children regarding the main themes of the respective parks.

"The rain water harvesting park which was developed by Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewage Board (HMWSSB) at Jubilee Hills to bring about awareness in people on methods of harvesting rain water could not draw attention of the public as there is no public transportation available," opines Yadgiri, the Deputy Director of Biodiversity Department in GHMC.

He added: "We forwarded a proposal for theme parks three to four months ago, but it is not paid any attention owing to lack of enough funds with any of the departments in GHMC. As soon as the funds are made available to us, we can take up development of parks and complete them within six months."

But, denizens think otherwise. Some of them seeing the plight of people during the just-concluded monsoon season quip that they prefer amenities and better roads and drainage system to the parks. "I think rather than theme parks, it's better for GHMC to concentrate on basic amenities in the city.

There are many problems like drainages and roads which have to be solved first," says Karthik, an IT employee. "It's a good idea to develop theme parks. Children can get a lot of practical knowledge at these parks," adds Bharathi, a house wife.