A modicum of normalcy seems to be returning to city parks. Morning-evening walkers, joggers, yoga enthusiasts, recreational footballers or cricketers have begun resuming their chosen activity at parks they used to frequent before the March 24 lockdown.
Though the footfall at the parks – like Janeshwar Mishra Park or Lohia Park – is just minuscule compared to pre-lockdown times, the turnout is slowly and steadily rising with each passing day.
Most parks threw open their gates to people June 1 onwards although only for four hours each in the morning and evening: from 5 am to 8 am and then 5 pm to 8 pm.
Right at the gate, long banners with a longer set of instructions, dos and don’ts greeted visitors, but one trip inside the parks makes it clear that not all visitors stick to those guidelines. One can easily spot many senior citizens returning to their park routines. However, the very first instruction says ‘Those above the age of 65, those with comorbidities, and children below 10, not allowed’.
“No Sir, we do not ask them to go back. If they have come back to their routines, we let them in. In fact, the entry for senior citizens is free, while we charge Rs 10 from others for a visit. Incidentally, if you notice, most senior citizens who come, walk solo, or not more than two together. They always have their masks on. They don’t even talk. They walk, do their exercises and go back. So why should we be harsh to them?” said the ticket seller at the Ram Manohar Lohia Park in Gomti Nagar.
{{/usCountry}}“No Sir, we do not ask them to go back. If they have come back to their routines, we let them in. In fact, the entry for senior citizens is free, while we charge Rs 10 from others for a visit. Incidentally, if you notice, most senior citizens who come, walk solo, or not more than two together. They always have their masks on. They don’t even talk. They walk, do their exercises and go back. So why should we be harsh to them?” said the ticket seller at the Ram Manohar Lohia Park in Gomti Nagar.
{{/usCountry}}Unlike the Lohia Park, the Janeshwar Mishra Park has not resumed ticketing yet. A gatekeeper there said: “We are not stopping anyone. Anyway, the footfall is drastically less than what it was before.”
None of the parks has introduced any documents check, thermal scanning etc.
“If you notice, you will see that only those who were die-hard park visitors are returning to parks. Parks are open areas that are not known as conducive to the spread of Covid-19. Most people walk or exercise solo and some also in groups, while maintaining a distance. It cannot be that hazardous. I am 70, and I have resumed. I am a retired IAS officer and one of the gates of the CSI Towers open into Lohia Park. I use this gate and not the main one. If you notice, even couples dating, generally, sit apart if they sit on a bench,” said a Lohia Park regular.
In the morning slot, the majority of people are walkers, joggers, yoga enthusiasts, and such bands of young boys who play recreational football or cricket. But the evenings also have a sizable number of dating couples - considering most other rendezvous like restaurants, malls, multiplexes continue to be locked down. Even such couples were not spotted cuddling. Instead, on benches, they sit separately at far ends and chat.
However, one instruction requests people not to sit on park benches. Most people enter and leave the parks with masks on, and some take them off while exercising.
On the whole, it looks livelier in the parks than in other parts of the city.