A playground has caused a rift between some residents of CE Block and of neighbouring NBCC Vibgyor Tower and raised the question of rights of local people to the community grounds in the township.

The ground is the property of New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) where the New Town CE Block Cultural Association has been running cricket and football camps. NKDA had fenced the ground and the association used to keep it under lock and key.

Problems started in early March when several teams from across the township wanted to use the ground to practice for an intra-New Town cricket tournament coming up at the NKDA stadium but were refused access by the CE Block association.

On March 5, there was a confrontation when NBCC residents wanted to play on the ground. On finding the park empty but locked, they called the New Town police station and got the gate unlocked. “Vibgyor Tower has a CE Block address. So we too belong to CE Block and have a right to play in the block’s playground,” pointed out Annapurna Sinha, secretary of NBCC VT Owners’ Association, who accompanied the players from her complex to the ground on two days to push their claim.

The gate has since stayed unlocked. “Anyone can play on the ground. So we asked the block association not to lock it anymore. We will allow it to be locked only if there is a directive from NKDA,” said a police officer.

The opening of the gate has created several problems for the local residents. “In the initial days since then, all the streets along the playground would be lined with cars from 5.30am to 6pm, with players coming from as far as Bangur Avenue. The homely atmosphere of the residential area was ruined,” recalled Alok Das, secretary of the block association.

With the conclusion of the tournament, the crowd may have lessened but word of mouth has spread about the ground being available free of cost. “People are playing on the ground almost daily from 5.30am till about 9.30am,” said Das.

The association office-bearers are running from pillar to post, seeking permission to lock the gate again, claiming exclusive right to the use of the ground.

“We have spent Rs 1.5 lakh from our own pockets in laying the concrete pitch, setting up the practice net and buying a roller to maintain the pitch. Debdasbabu (Chatterjee), who is instrumental in running the coaching camps for children, waters the pitch regularly. Once when the hosepipe got stolen, he bought another. Does all that mean nothing?” said Tarakbaran Mukherjee, the block president.

Block residents claim they had a major role in the development of the playground in 2017-18. “This used to be a ditch over which overhead electric lines used to pass. Oxen used to relax in the mud,” said Sasanka Ghosh, one of the early residents. “NKDA needed clay to fill up the ditch. We got 400 truckloads of clay from the construction site of JW Marriott. Their payloader evened out the landfill,” Mukherjee added.

More recently, after the lockdown period, there was wild growth in the field. “Even though NKDA people mowed the ground once, it was not enough. We got it done again. NKDA has planted trees along the boundary wall of the ground but it is some of our elderly residents who water them regularly,” Das added.

The open gates are letting cattle in as well as allowing objectionable activity. “I have seen small groups of men coming out of the ground at midnight. Liquor bottles have been found inside in the morning,” said Rajatsubhra Roy, who stays opposite the park gate. “Women will feel unsafe to go for evening walks on the streets surrounding the park if such an atmosphere prevails,” he added.

Cricket being played by people deemed by the association to be outsiders early on Tuesday morning using facilities set up by the block association Sourced by the correspondent

The sports camps, with about 70 kids, run in the afternoon. “We train children from other blocks, as well. Even some children from NBCC come here,” said Mukherjee. So far, the block residents admit, there has been no clash in timings between the playing hours of adults from elsewhere and the coaching of the children. “But it is a matter of time before that happens,” they say.

The use of the cricket field by people deemed outsiders has triggered another charge — of the practice nets being damaged. “They come to play here but have no responsibility towards the facilities,” Das said, pointing towards their NBCC neighbours. “We are ready to pay a subscription, if there is any,” countered NBCC’s Sinha on hearing of the complaint from The Telegraph Salt Lake.

Lack of access for block residents to a temple inside the gated complex on religious occasions has also come up as a point of contention in this debate.

The block association met NKDA chairman Debashis Sen to present their case on March 25. “He has promised to look into the matter,” said Das.

The administration has taken a dim view of the conflict. “If they cannot maintain amity among neighbours, we might be forced to take back control of the use of the ground. The keys will be with our security guard and people will have to book in advance, like they do at the NKDA stadium,” a senior official told The Telegraph Salt Lake.