Remember the days you would go out to play after school and your mother would remind you to be home by dusk? That’s ancient history. Thanks to brighter lights, upgraded facilities, and enhanced security, residents now embrace the night. Many, in fact, wait for the twilight to head out, with some even enjoying the parks till after midnight.
Visit CK-CL Park any evening and you’ll spot three football matches happening simultaneously, with badminton and volleyball courts abuzz too. A small group huddles over a game of cards, and over 20 clusters, large and small, dot the park. Some chat under the stars, some lean on their partners and young parents help toddlers take their first steps.
The park’s energy spills over to the walkways, where joggers and walkers rub shoulders. Occasionally, a guitarist serenades the evening under a shed, along with a chorus of singers. The ambience is so inviting that many residents to and from the market detour through the park instead of around it. Several other parks tell similar tales.
Night is young
“When I was in school I would have to be home by 5pm or get a earful from my parents. Back then roads were bad, parks were dark and it was unsafe, particularly for girls,” says Arpita Sarkar, a resident of Kestopur who would come to play in Salt Lake. Now she brings her eight-yearold to BJ Park, twice an evening. “The first time we stay from 5pm to 6.30. We head home to eat, he studies, and we return at 11pm and sometimes stay till 2am. Even then the park is abuzz,” says Sarkar, who feels safe at the hour seeing police patrol jeeps and knowing that CCTVs are everywhere. Usha Modi and Usha Saraf are senior citizens of BJ Block who come to the park twice a day too. “But in the morning we are rushed. We can barely attend the yoga class in the park then. We return in the evenings for a leisurely walk. We unwind and chat too,” says Modi. This is their me-time. Evenings work out better for working parents too. “I don’t return home till 6.30 and if it wasn’t for welllit parks, I couldn’t have taken my five-year-old to play at all,” says AF Block resident Raushan Kumar, who walks over to BF Park. “Some slides here are broken but the kids love the company so much that they don’t mind. We stay till 8pm.”
Sport of your choice
Visitors, and especially sports enthusiasts, don’t ask for much. Give them a field with level surface, trimmed grass, bright lights, and, often, they do the rest themselves.
“We got shovels, net and bamboo poles, and built our own badminton court. Volleyball players did the same,” says Ganga Thapa, who lives as a paying guest (PG) in CK Block. “My PG is not great but I stick on mainly as it’s close to this park. I get home from work at 7pm and am here from 7.15 to 10.”
Sayantan Kanjilal comes for net practice at FD Park. “I love playing cricket and we have our own team. But if I were to practise during the day, I’d have to quit my job,” says the player from Dum Dum Park. “The nets here are by a private body and I’ve been coming here for three years. None of this was available when we were in school.”
Shyamal Mondal, a Class X student of Kestopur, says AL Park is closest to his home but prefers CK-CL Park as it’s better maintained. “This park even has drinking water dispensers and wash basins,” he says. “Afternoons are too hot to play but it’s so well lit we come after 7pm.” CA Park has an open-air gym, that attracts residents like Rahomat Ali. “We wouldn’t get this ambiance working out at home or even in a gym,” he says, in between push-ups under a shed at the edge of the park. “We improvise further and use, say, the monkey bars to do chin-ups.”
The group of eight stays at CA Park till 10pm. “Facilities are good but the lights, at present, have got blocked by trees,” Ali pointed out.
Just like that
Shruti Malakar can’t think of spending her evenings inside her PG. “It isn’t air-conditioned so I head to CK-CL Park which is breezy after dusk. I’ve got my books here and once my friends come, we sit here for brainstorming sessions,” said Shruti, right after answering her mother’s phone call from Asansol. “My mom asked me to head home now as it’s getting late but I told her this is a safe neighbourhood.” Among the park’s regulars are Joy Ram, a security guard from CL Block, and his pet parrots. Joy, thoroughly at ease, sheds his uniform and relaxes in his vest. His wife comes in a nightie. They lounge on two flexes spread on the grass, even bringing a pillow for extra comfort. “Fresh air is good for my parrots,” Joy said, “and visitors love playing with them.” Spaces like CD Park attract pet dogs late at night after most people have retired. “We pay pet licences to the Corporation, so pets deserve park time too,” reasons a dog owner of the block.
Second home
“It’s no exaggeration to dub these parks our second home,” says Sarkar, at BJ Park. “During a past Durga puja, my Kestopur neighbour’s son fought with his parents and fled home. He was missing for four days till the cops found him living in BJ Park! That’s how comfortable we all are here.” Several residents credited the current administration for the facilities. “These new benches, sheds, lights, play equipment, and toilets have all been built after Krishnadi (Chakraborty) became mayor,” says Madhumita Dutta, an evening walker at BJ Park. Another catalyst for the increased traffic to Sector II parks is the new bridge from Kestopur, near Tank 8 Island. “Now I can bring my kids over by scooty,” said Saroj Rangra of Kestopur, showing her pink helmet. The steady footfall at BF Park has prompted at least one vendor to land up in the evenings to sell lemon tea.
Dark and dingy
While some parks literally glow in the dark, others are deserted in the darkness. BB-BC Park, with its poor lighting, deters anyone but hurried commuters passing through. At AE (Part 1), a portion of the boundary wall has collapsed since a tree fell on it during a storm months ago. Inside, it is too dark for residents and is only frequented by street dogs. Naresh Jaiswal says he moved to FD Block as it’s the most prestigious in Salt Lake. “But I’m let down every evening when taking my kids to the park. The children’s play area lies demolished for months now. If the kids insist, I have to take them to the much smaller but better-maintained GC Park,” he said. Sandip Das is disgruntled with the ground at FD. “This field is not maintained anymore. They erect bamboos for pujas and weddings without repairing them later. My son Suhan, an under-14 cricketer for Bengal, broke his leg playing here in 2022 and lost a year as he couldn’t appear for selections,” he said.
Locked and forgotten
There are also some parks like AE (Part 2) that are in stellar condition – having been built as a football ground — but kept under lock and key. Only the walkway is accessible. HB Park, too, is used by Sribhumi Football Club and so locked for others. “This reminds me of The Selfish Giant story. Of what use is a park’s beautification if children are not allowed inside?” asks an HB Block resident who is forced to head to other parks in the evening with his son. “We grew up climbing trees and Kids enjoy in the BJ Block playground in the evening. Pictures by Brinda Sarkar lying in the parks during power cuts but now parks are rented out to clubs and wedding ceremonies, keeping residents away,” says the IT sector employee. “If the authorities are scared of vandalism and anti-social activities, let them fix CCTVs to monitor usage.”
Responsible use
Mayor Krishna Chakraborty says the development of parks has always been an important agenda for the Corporation. “When my children were young and we would visit my husband working abroad, we would be awestruck by the parks there. But back here our parks were no better than jungles with liquor bottles rolling on the ground and criminals seeking refuge among the bushes,” she told The Telegraph Salt Lake.
“Parks are central to life in Salt Lake. They’re our green spaces, where people unwind, play and exercise. Working mothers, especially, need well-lit parks for evening outings with their children. Toilets were another frequent request from elderly residents so we built them,” Chakraborty said. But she asks residents to use the parks responsibly. “Many adults sit on swings meant for kids and wreck them. I saw one such couple in CJ Park but when I asked them to get off, they misbehaved,” she says. “We provide amenities but users must use them responsibly.”