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Gardens to reopen on November 1 in Pune: Mayor

Hindustan Times, Pune | ByAbhay Khairnar, Pune
Oct 27, 2020 04:27 PM IST

PMC officials from garden department were unaware of the proposed move to reopen gardens. “We have heard it from the media representatives,” said an official on condition of anonymity.

The public gardens in Pune are set to reopen on November 1, seven months after the state government closed them in view of preventing coronavirus from spreading.

Pune mayor Murlidhar Mohol on Monday announced to reopen the gardens in city even as the civic administration was clueless about it.

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“For the last seven months, public gardens in the city are closed. As the Covid situation in the city is improving, we have decided to reopen the public gardens from November 1. People need to take necessary precautions while visiting the gardens,” Mohol said.

The mayor posted a series of tweets announcing the decision while adding that an official order will soon be issued.

PMC officials from garden department were unaware of the proposed move to reopen gardens. “We have heard it from the media representatives,” said an official on condition of anonymity.

One of the senior officers in garden department said that the public gardens in other corporations are closed yet, but if the PMC office-bearers have instructed the same, the administration needs to reopen these places.

PMC has 196 gardens across the city. In June, PMC had briefly reopened the gardens though the civic body had to revoke its decision after people began crowding.

“Mainly senior citizens and children visit public gardens. Both the categories fall in risk age group. Previously when PMC opened a few public gardens, it had to close down within a week as citizens were not following instructions,” said the PMC officer.

Many of the public gardens managed by PMC have open gyms and jogging tracks. Administration has expressed concerns about citizens not following guidelines and seen visiting public places without masks. There are also cases of visitors to gardens having an heated argument with security guards who point out the mandatory mask rule.

Public representatives said that in absence of gardens being closed, residents are crowding hills and open grounds.

“It’s been eight months that many are confined to homes. Reopening of gardens will help us get fresh air and work out in gyms,” said Anand Kulkarni, a resident of Bibvewadi.

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