- Fate of recreational facilities still hangs in balance amid MCI and CDA power struggle
ISLAMABAD: Scores of public libraries, gyms and recreational centres in the capital become victims of the city managers’ apathy as due to negligence and lack of maintenance many of them are in shambles mere decade after their construction.
The ongoing struggle for power and resources between the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) and the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has made the situation direr, as the question of the ownership of these recreational facilities still hangs in balance.
In 2007, the capital had a major facelift; dozens of new parks along with the libraries and gyms were constructed for the general public. However, CDA’s indifference resulted in absence of maintenance. It is pertinent to mention here that there are more parks per capita in Islamabad, the only city that boosts of a master plan, than any other city of Pakistan.
Apart from the mega schemes, then CDA chairman Kamran Lashari approved of constructing libraries along with the gyms to be benefitted by the public at large. Almost a decade after, the libraries and the gyms are in miserable condition. Many libraries suffer from scarcity of the books while the gyms are either closed or the equipment is rusty and unusable.
The gym at G-11 and G-7 have long been closed. The picture of the gyms in other sectors is no different either. The younger lot, when the gyms were newly-opened and the machinery was functional, used to regularly visit the facility. But since the better days are long past, the youth now opt for the private gyms for physical activities.
In the beginning, the older lot used to visit library to read newspapers and have a chit-chat in the adjacent open-air sitting area. Few readers can still be found in the libraries. The lack of washrooms and other basic amenities in the libraries deter the elderly populace from visiting the libraries.
Unlike the gyms, the libraries do open quite regularly but their timings have been cut short by three hours. According to the National Library’s website, the timing is from 8 in the morning to 7 in the evening. However, many libraries close around long before the prescribed time, they close around four in the afternoon.
In Islamabad, every sector boasts of multiple parks. There are separate parks for children, women and senior citizens. The community parks have football ground, tennis court, basketball court, outdoor gyms and running tracks. Many of these parks are in derelict condition. The nets and partitions are missing, ugly graffiti is all over the place and at night there is no electricity in and around the parks.
During mid 2000’s, the campaign to beautify the capital was initiated by the military ruler and spearheaded by the then CDA chairman. During his tenure, new parks were made, restaurants and hotels were constructed on Peer-Sohawa on top of Margalla Hills and new roads and flyovers were built all across the city and new sectors were developed on the fringes of the capital.
