The Last Playground 3 | Broken Swings, Leaning Poles And Shrinking Play Spaces Inside Bihar's Troubled Parks
The Bihar chapter of The Last Playground traces unsafe parks, broken equipment, shrinking playgrounds and safety gaps from Gaya and Nalanda to Patna.
Published : May 27, 2026 at 9:01 AM IST
Gaya/ Bodh Gaya/ Nalanda: In one of the city parks meant for children, an 11,000 KV electricity pole is leaning overhead. Nearby, metal meshes are hung to prevent live cables from crashing to the ground. Old trees tilt dangerously. Weak-rooted trunks fall during mild storms. The picture you conjure up in your mind is a fragment of Bihar’s shrinking and increasingly fragile public recreation landscape, where during evenings parents bring children to enjoy.
As part of The Last Playground, a campaign examining the condition and safety of public play spaces across India, ETV Bharat travelled through Bihar - from Gaya and Bodh Gaya to Nalanda and Patna - to understand whether parks built for leisure, exercise and childhood still feel safe.
But what emerged was not much different from other places where broken swings, leaning trees, incomplete parks, unsafe electrical infrastructure, encroachment, substance abuse, and shrinking green space have come to be known as the new normal.
Gaya: Parks That Residents Refuse to Call Parks
Parks here do not necessarily get defined by images of greenery, flowers and calm. In Gaya, parks are defined by tilted trees, damaged swings and leaning electricity poles.
In the recent past, four parks were developed around Gandhi Maidan. Yet locals argue these remain far from the standard of well-equipped, family-friendly urban parks. Instead, everywhere, dangerously tilted trees, damaged children’s play equipment and poor facilities bother.
At the heart of the city, in central Gaya, is located the Gandhi Maidan Children’s Park. It draws 1,000 to 1,500 visitors daily. Morning walkers come here partly because some open-gym equipment has been installed, and women are the frequent users. Children accompany them.
But locals say the leaning 11,000 KV electric pole is the biggest threat to anyone who visits the park. “The hanging wire mesh installed to prevent high-voltage lines from falling to the ground has itself become a reason of concern. A major incident cannot be ruled out,” fear residents in the locality.
Across Gandhi Maidan’s parks, locals say trees often collapse during mild storms or rainfall. The parks were built in areas where Siris trees already existed, a species whose roots cannot withstand even strong winds. Several tree uprooting incidents have happened in the past, though no major human casualty has occurred.
But the combination of leaning poles, sagging wires and unstable trees continues to worry park-goers.
Officially, Gaya Municipal Corporation’s 53 wards are said to contain more than 50 parks. Yet residents say not one of them spans even a single acre. Most occupy only four to five kattha of land, which is less for a park. “Many lack basic greenery, let alone ornamental flowering or recreational infrastructure,” they said.
Resident Shamsher Khan is blunt when he says, “You call these parks? In Gaya, none of the parks falls into the category. At best, we can call them green areas. Even at Gandhi Maidan, three or four structures have been created in the name of parks,” he says with disgust filled in his voice.
For small children, there are only two or three swings and a couple of slides. For adults, there are some open-gym style instruments.
Ward councillor Gajendra Singh says Gaya lacks parks that fit the conventional urban model. “The kind of park that should exist, those with fountains, flowers, swings for children, food kiosks, are nowhere in Gaya,” he acknowledges.
Demanding the creation of a hill park on Brahmayoni Hill, Singh argued that the location’s natural landscape could transform the city’s recreation profile. The site offers roughly 3 km by 1.5 km of usable space.
“If a hill park is developed there, people will have a real park to use. It could become one of Gaya’s biggest sources of revenue and also be highly beneficial for health,” he said, urging Bihar’s leadership to support the proposal.
But asked about the safety and standards in existing parks, he said, “Children’s parks built in Gandhi Maidan do not meet SOP standards. Many kinds of interventions are needed in these parks. Now that parks fall under the Forest Department, they will take care of it,” he stated.
Social activist Lalji Prasad paints an even harsher picture. According to him, many of Gaya’s so-called parks resemble dry grounds rather than green recreational spaces. He cites Baikunth Shukla Park, where gate construction and soil filling work are underway, but basic park facilities are nowhere.
“Most parks in Gaya are not in good condition. Because of poor management, many are losing their very identity. A children’s park on the Gaya-Patna Road was built at a cost of crores and inaugurated in 2019-20 by former Union Minister Ashwini Choubey. Even that park is now in poor shape,” he said.
He is caustic about Azad Park. Given its history and location, he argues, the park should have become a model urban space. “Instead, it has deteriorated into a gathering point for gamblers and drug users. Visit any time, people are seen playing cards and smoking cannabis. There is nothing in place for women’s safety,” he quickly added.
He also points to the construction of a toilet directly near the main entrance, which makes it difficult for the visitors to bear the foul odour.
In Children’s Park, guard Surendra Kumar answered why the younger masses do not quite like this place. “Plantation work has improved in recent months and some flowering plants have been added, but there are not enough play facilities for children here. We have informed officials about this,” he said.
Sitting inside Azad Park, local resident Dilip Kumar says he has watched the park since childhood. What remains today has little semblance to what once existed. He has a piece of advice, though. “If you want to visit a proper park, you have to go to Bodh Gaya, where you will at least find better ones. Azad Park has become a urinal.”
In Gwal Bigha, a park named after freedom fighter and former Barachatti MLA Jageshwar Prasad Khalesh tells another story of neglect.
Spread over approximately five kattha of land, the park lacks a drinking water facility, a toilet or any usable public amenities. Locals corroborate the pathetic condition and say gambling groups frequently occupy the space. Even a statue of the freedom fighter after whom the park is named has not been installed.
Gaya Mayor Ganesh Paswan acknowledges shortcomings but points to administrative restructuring. However, he said a lot of work has been carried out compared to earlier years. Referring to a children’s park built near Kandi on the Gaya-Patna Road, Paswan said the civic authorities were working on it when responsibility for parks shifted.
“A government order in this regard has come under which park construction and beautification fall under the Forest Department,” he informs.
He also assured that all parks will be inspected and maintenance gaps will be filled. On the dangerous trees and electric infrastructure, he divides responsibility between departments.
“As far as leaning trees are concerned, the Forest Department will examine them. For electricity poles, discussions will be held with the electricity department officials.”
Bodh Gaya: A Near-Miss Beneath Falling Branches
Compared with Gaya, Bodh Gaya has a larger number of sizable parks.
Yet even here, safety concerns shadow public green spaces. The problem is especially visible in Jayaprakash Udyan, one of the area’s largest parks, where leaning and ageing trees continue to worry residents.
On May 13, a major accident was averted when, along the road leading toward the Mahabodhi Temple, a massive tree branch suddenly snapped and crashed down. The incident reinforced what locals said about trees across parks and adjoining public, unmanaged hazards.
Across Gaya and Bodh Gaya, electric poles often run alongside park walls and boundaries. So when trees collapse, they frequently drag down cables or damage electrical infrastructure.
Nalanda: Parks Built on Paper, Fear Built on the Ground
The situation in Nalanda mirrors Gaya in unsettling ways. Back in 2010-11, the municipal corporation approved an ambitious proposal to build eight parks. Five were handed to the Forest Department and show visible improvement in appearance and functioning.
But three others, linked to the Smart City framework, tell a different story.
In Tikulipar locality, the foundation stone of a park costing roughly Rs 20 lakh was laid on August 19, 2010, by then minister Narendra Narayan Yadav.
But construction never got over. A boundary wall was built. A walking path was laid around a pond. And the rest of the area devolved into overgrowth, shrubs and unmanaged land.
Now cattle are tied there.
Local resident Anil Yadav said the place was earmarked for a park but was abandoned midway. “Now it is filled with garbage, jungle growth and bushes. Anti-social elements gather here, and empty liquor bottles can be found lying around,” he said.
Another resident, Suresh Gop, says questioning the condition can invite intimidation. “If an outsider questions this neglect, they are threatened and driven away. No one, neither the department nor the executive engineer, has the answer as to what caused the project to stop,” he informed.
Not every park in Nalanda tells a story of abandonment. In Amber locality, a Children’s Park built at approximately Rs 20 lakh presents a heartening picture.
The park, operational and open to the public, follows the state’s Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) framework for public parks. Visitors have access to clean surroundings, drinking water, toilets and protected greenery. Entry is allowed only on the basis of tickets, Rs 5 for children and Rs 10 for adults.
Park manager Ajit Kumar says the facility receives 100 to 200 visitors daily, especially during morning and evening hours.
Subhash Park: Crowded Grounds, Persistent Fear
In Bihar Sharif’s Subhash Park, around 500-600 people visit daily, and on Fridays and weekends, attendance touches 1,000 people. The entry is only on the basis of tickets, the cost of which has risen from Rs 10 to Rs 20.
Twenty-two employees are posted there. But there is a fear of old infrastructure crumbling down. Park workers Rakesh Kumar and Hari Jamadar point to a deteriorating overhead water tank inside the premises.
“During storms and strong winds, the structure visibly shakes. Heavy old trees and hanging branches create another layer of danger,” they said.
Hari recounts an incident when, during a storm, a tree crashed through the wall and fell. Three people were trapped underneath and their legs were fractured. “They recovered after months of treatment,” he recalled.
At the ‘Fitness Park’ on Mamu-Bhagna Road, accessibility is a big challenge, though it adheres to SOP standards.
Park in-charge Brijesh Kumar says the facility lies somewhat outside the city centre. Reaching it can be expensive because auto-rickshaw and toto operators often demand high fares. At night, poor street lighting outside the premises discourages visitors.
“But the Fitness Park is fully compliant under SOP standards. Around 100 people visit daily. The entry fee is Rs 40 per person,” Kumar said.
At Golden Park, located inside the labour welfare centre grounds near Hospital Chowk, maintenance workers describe a different set of struggles. For gardener Virendra Prasad, surviving on a monthly salary of Rs 14,000 is difficult, but he continues to work and explains the actual issues that affect the park.
Older teenagers and young men frequently sit on children’s swings, causing equipment damage, he cites, pointing fingers at someone older occupying a swing. By evening, another problem takes over.
“After dusk, anti-social boys come here and consume intoxicants. Even when stopped, they do not listen,” he adds.
When asked about the problems, Bihar Sharif Municipal Commissioner Kumar Nishant Vivek said he was not aware of the issues. “I do not have information about this matter. I am occupied with the Malmas fair-related workload, I will check,” he added.
Forest Department official Rajkumar S defended parks under departmental control. “All parks under our jurisdiction operate according to SOP guidelines. Dilapidated water towers and leaning trees, if any, will be inspected and removed at the earliest,” he assured.
Patna Parks Better Off
Compared with Gaya and Nalanda, the picture in Patna appears markedly better. The capital’s parks are cleaner, more organised and in many places, well maintained.
Patna currently has around 116 parks, but not many playgrounds.
Of these, 115 fall under the Patna Park Division, while one continues to be operated by the municipal corporation. New parks are also being planned across developing neighbourhoods, particularly on vacant government land.
How Bihar Changed Park Management
A major administrative shift took place in 2021. Following a state government resolution, responsibility for parks in urban local bodies across Bihar’s 38 districts was transferred to specialised Park Divisions.
Each district received its own park division structure. Municipal corporations and urban bodies remain responsible for developing parks, while long-term operation and maintenance now fall under these park divisions.
The divisions function under the Forest Department. Trained forest personnel are deployed for plant care, lawn maintenance, tree pruning and sanitation management.
Environmentalist and former wildlife council member Mrityunjay Mani says Patna’s parks are broadly in good shape. But gaps cannot be ignored.
“Some cooperative neighbourhoods still have vacant land where playgrounds can be created because Patna city faces a serious shortage of sports grounds for outdoor games,” he says, adding that regulated entry systems like fees and monthly passes can keep undesirable elements away from many parks.
The Shortage of Outdoor Fields
Even in the capital, residents continue to voice concern over the absence of large outdoor grounds. Most parks are designed for walking, sitting, landscaping or small-scale recreation. But activities like football, cricket and volleyball require something increasingly scarce in dense cities - open land.
The demand, therefore, is not only for more neighbourhood parks. It is for larger public playgrounds.
What Patna Municipal Corporation Says
Patna Municipal Corporation’s Additional Municipal Commissioner Krishna Swaroop says after the 2021 policy shift, parks were transferred to the Patna Park Division.
“The corporation’s role therefore, is now focused on development and handover to the Park Division for maintenance because trained personnel there ensure better upkeep,” he said adding that the corporation directly operates only one park in Ward 38.
As urban expansion continues, additional sites have been identified and development work has begun in some areas.
Swaroop informed that some parks are also being developed through agencies connected to bridge construction and road development projects, particularly near JP Ganga Path.
Most parks, he adds, range between 5,000 and 10,000 square feet in size.
Morning walkers typically receive free entry.
Even Better Parks Raise Safety Questions
Despite Patna’s comparatively stronger park infrastructure, concerns over safety standards continue to exist. In July 2025, a shocking incident inside Kankarbagh Park triggered public debate. Open firing broke out inside the park.
According to reports, criminals fired four to five rounds, triggering panic and stampede-like scenes. Police later recovered a firearm from the location.
The SOP: What Bihar’s Parks Are Supposed to Look Like
The official Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) created by the Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department states:
* 85% of a park’s total area must remain dedicated to greenery.
* This includes large and small trees, medicinal plants, ornamental flowering vegetation and nursery zones.
* Only 15% of park space may be used for built facilities.
That 15 percent can include walking tracks, open gyms, benches, children’s play equipment, essential visitor amenities
The Patna Park Forest Division takes responsibility while implementation is overseen by a designated Divisional Forest Officer (DFO).
The Last Playground: What Bihar’s Parks Reveal
In Bihar, across cities, one question recurs. When urban children step into a park, are they entering a space designed for play, safety and public life, or simply navigating another compromised fragment of the modern city?
For many families in Bihar, that answer remains uncertain.
(With Inputs from Sartaj Ahmad, Mahmood Alam and Krishan Nandan)
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