Locals Protest Entry Fee at KPHB Phase-5 Park
Residents oppose GHMC’s decision to charge for public park access.
Hyderabad: Locals have opposed the charging of an entry fee to a park at KPHB Colony, Phase-5. The GHMC had handed over the park to a private agency, Nava Nirman, for maintenance recently.
The agency charges Rs11 per day and Rs 220 for a monthly pass for visitors. Locals opposed the move to ticket their entry, stating that the park was public property and access should be free.
Kukatpally MLA, Madhavaram Krishna Rao visited the park and asked the visitors not to pay the fee. Following this, residents have stopped paying fees from Saturday, though the board specifying the fee has not removed yet.
The agency has also stopped collecting the fee following opposition from residents.
A local resident A. Sridhar, said, “This is a public space created with public money. How can they charge for using it. It started taking charges from the past 15 days.”
The GHMC had developed the one-acre park with a walking track and a place to play sports.
A GHMC official said the park was given to a private agency through a tender process with orders from GHMC commissioner K. Ilambarithi. The decision was meant to ensure proper maintenance and security due to complaints about misuse of the space. “Further decisions will be made based on the commissioner's orders,” he added.
