Parks are mainly developed in residential localities for walks, physical exercises and games for the young ones. In short parks are needed mainly to maintain physical fitness of the residents of the nearby localities.
The Defence Housing Authority (DHA), Lahore, have developed many parks. My residence is in Block X and I use Flora Park for my morning walks since almost 11 years. Unfortunately, as per my observation, very few residents of DHA are using this park. However, the residents of the surrounding localities, especially old men and women have been using this facility for morning walks and exercises early in the morning. Elderly people do not have any other purpose whatsoever in coming to this park that early in the morning.
Since almost a month I have observed that the security guards deployed by DHA are not allowing the use of this park by these elderly people simply on the reason that they are not the residents of DHA. Apparently, these non-residents are neither that good looking, nor fashionable nor rich comparatively.
Let us look at other realities: we do allow the non residents to come and say their prayers in mosques in DHA; we do allow the non residents to come and shop in DHA; and surely we cannot ban non residents the use of roads in DHA. Why should we then ban the non residents to use the park especially for their morning walks? If there is any issue of safety and security, the same guards deployed by DHA should do the needful. The chances of such offences committed by these elderly men and women residing in the nearby localities, and that too so early in the morning, is just out of the question. I would suggest, if I may, that the DHA should look after the upkeep of the park rather than this kind of unhealthy, to say the least, situations.
Remember those who (in your opinion) do not deserve need it the most.
ABS JAFRI
Lahore
