Visakhapatnam: Visiting public parks to enjoy oneself or with others is being overshadowed by entry fees made mandatory for all. For many residents surrounding these parks, visiting their nearby green ground had been a simple pleasure. Now, it is a financial dilemma.
For example, a group of schoolchildren led by tenth-grader Srirangam Usha visited the VMRDA Park near Pedajalaripeta. They got disheartened to learn that the fee to enter the park is ₹20 per person. With five friends in tow, the total came to ₹100, which Usha did not carry. Money even with her friends did not total to ₹100.
They dropped the idea of visiting the park on the day. Subsequently, they felt they just could not pay ₹20 to visit the park. The greenery that soothed them had gone out of their reach.
Payment for entry to the park has discouraged older citizens as well. At Shivaji Park, an elderly couple M.M. Rao and his spouse turned back after being asked to pay ₹40. For them, the fee had not been just a number, but a choice between leisure and daily essentials.
“For ₹40, we can buy leafy greens or a milk packet,” they remarked, while walking away from the park. They are not alone in their trade-off. There are many ordinary families in the city that feel the same.
The parks in Visakhapatnam have put up sign boards that promote monthly passes that are cheaper compared to daily payments. For a family of four going for a routine morning or evening walk would cost them nearly ₹1,500 rupees a month, quite an excessive figure that too to a public space.
Children are voicing their disappointment, lamenting that their summer holidays are being spent away from the playgrounds they once cherished. G. Rani, another tenth-grade student, expressed her concern about discriminatory ticketing practices: “The boards clearly state that the entry fee for children is ₹5 to ₹10. Yet, when we ask for either of these tickets, they say we are too big and must buy the ₹20 ticket.”
The VMRDA City Central Park is one of the city’s most prominent green spaces. It operates daily from 9:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. However, its fee structure has become a focal point of discontent. Park authorities charge ₹20 per person between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. From 2:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., the charges go up to ₹60 per person.
In other words, this pricing model effectively restricts access during the hours when families and children are most likely to visit.
Visakhapatnam boasts of an impressive array of parks, from the sprawling 64-acre VMRDA Park to the scenic Kailasagiri Park and the expansive Dr Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy Central Park. These spaces are designed to offer recreation, relaxation, and a connection with nature. Yet, with entry fees now imposed on most of them, except for the VMRDA Health Arena, residents are questioning whether public parks are truly public anymore.
The growing chorus of discontent reflects a deeper concern. “Access to nature, once considered a basic community right, is being commodified,” says S. Pooja, a student.
For a city celebrated for its natural beauty, the challenge now lies in ensuring that its green spaces remain accessible to all, not just for those who can afford payment.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
