There are five major parks in Dhubri town, but locals cannot visit these due to lack of proper maintenance.

Hemen Chakraborty, a resident of Dhubri and vice-president of the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP), said the Dhubri Municipal Board is responsible for proper upkeep of Children’s Park, Victoria Park, Rajiv Gandhi Children’s Park, Bhupen Hazarika Park and Netai Dhubuni Ghat Park, but despite several requests to clean these, nothing has been done so far and the parks wallow in unhygienic condition.

The Netai Dhubuni Ghat Park on the bank of the Brahmaputra is located in front of the official residence of the deputy commissioner and that of the superintendent of police, but it is in deplorable condition for a long time.

Chakraborty said: “The park has statues of Netai Dhubuni, Swami Vivekananda, Vir Chilarai and RD Burman. The municipal board has spent a huge amount for its renovation, but they failed to properly maintain the park.”

The Children’s Park located adjacent to SP English Medium High School has become a dumping ground for waste for the past couple of years.

It has an auditorium, but is used round the year for commercial activities like organising marriage parties as well as public and political meetings.

Parents rue that they cannot take their children to these parks as these are overcrowded and not well maintained.

In 2015, the board blocked a public road and constructed another park meant for elderly persons in the memory of music maestro Bhupen Hazarika and named it “Rose Park”. It is located between the official residences of the deputy commissioner and district forest officials. It is hardly been open to the public since the day after inauguration.

“The park does not have water nor toilet facilities. Owing to poor maintenance, it is full of weed. Plastic wrappers, paper plates, liquor bottles, liquor sachets, broken glass bottles and cigarette butts are strewn all over. Visitors cannot sit inside due to filthy smell and smoking by some people at every corner of the park,” said senior citizen Soleman Houqe.

Another resident, on condition of anonymity, said: “The condition of the Rajiv Gandhi Children’s Park near the circuit house of Dhubri is a little better. But it is available for public only in the evening. Moreover, the authorities have recently increased entry fee from Rs 5 to Rs 10.”