While neighbourhood parks are meant to provide local residents an escape into a green oasis in the midst of a growing city, people of Palmgrove Road, B Cross, Anglo Indian quarters in Austin Town can hardly make use of the BBMP park in their area as it is frequented by thugs and drug addicts. Things were quiet here until some jail birds were released recently. Since arriving in the area they have begun gathering near the BBMP park and smoking ganja, marijuana and other narcotic substances, says an unhappy resident, Arjun Kumar (name changed).

“Earlier they took drugs inside the park. But now they use them in the open. So we cannot go near the park anymore. They also behave nastily. Repeated complaints to the police have fallen on deaf ears. We live in constant fear of them,’’ he adds. Instead of patrolling the area , the police ask the people to inform them whenever they turn up, according to him. "And when they do pick them up, they let them off after taking them some distance,” Arjun complains

Women are particularly afraid of venturing near the park as the thugs indulge in eve teasing and also rob people of their cash and mobile phones, he claims. “Since they come in a huge gang its hard to question them and if we do try to talk to them they hurl abuses at us," he adds. So rampant is the drug use near the park that it is now called “Needle park” and “Grass park” by the locals who want the authorities to restore it to the way it was.