The Last Playground | Concrete Jungles, Crumbling Parks: Are Our Children Safe Anywhere Anymore?
In India's concrete cities, childhood is running out of safe spaces. Parks have turned into ornamental luxuries where parents shudder to send their kids.
Published : May 25, 2026 at 9:00 AM IST
Jaipur: That was the fateful day of March 29, 2026. A 12-year-old girl in Jaipur stepped onto a swing expecting nothing more than an ordinary evening of laughter. Seconds later, the rusted structure came crashing down on her. Since that day, the child has undergone four major surgeries. Her playground has been replaced by hospital corridors, painkillers and an uncertain future.
What happened in Jaipur is not an isolated accident. Take it as a warning, for across India’s rapidly expanding concrete cities, childhood is shrinking between high-rise buildings, traffic corridors and vanishing open spaces. Parks, once seen as the safest corners of a neighbourhood, are increasingly turning into unsafe zones due to the consistent apathy and neglect by the authorities concerned.
The veracity of the danger zones can be gauged in one visit - broken swings, exposed electrical wires, collapsing structures, rusted iron equipment, garbage piles, poor lighting and anti-social activity have become the new normal in this once-safe space for children.
ETV Bharat decided to do a nationwide reality check, investigating the condition, safety and disappearance of children’s parks across India, starting from Rajasthan. The campaign “The Last Playground” travels from Maharashtra’s Pune, once proudly called the “City of Gardens”, to Delhi’s historic Children’s Park in Lutyens’ Delhi, the first dedicated children’s park in India, and how 'Park Mitras' are fighting to reclaim public spaces from drugs and anti-social elements.
It covers Odisha’s broken swings and unsafe play zones to Bihar’s dangerously leaning trees threatening children’s lives, and Karnataka’s Shivamogga tragedy where a toddler died after an animal sculpture collapsed inside a park - each story reveals how negligence, poor maintenance and urban apathy are slowly making childhood unsafe.
But this campaign is not only about broken parks. It is about disappearing childhoods. It is about children growing up without safe places to run, fall, laugh and breathe freely. It is about cities that continue to grow taller while becoming smaller for children. And it is about asking governments, civic bodies and society a difficult but urgent question: If children are not safe even inside parks, then what kind of cities are we really building?
The first stop of ETV Bharat’s nationwide reality check is Rajasthan, where a little girl’s shattered swing became the starting point of a larger investigation into the dangerous condition of parks meant for children.
The Rajasthan Story
On March 29, 2026, a routine afternoon in Jaipur turned into a nightmare. A 12-year-old girl was playing on a swing inside a private society park near Sikar Road when the swing suddenly snapped and collapsed on her. The child suffered severe injuries. Since then, she has undergone four major surgeries and continues to battle pain at home.
Soon after the incident, the victim's father filed an FIR at the Harmada Police Station in Jaipur. Acting on this complaint, the police investigated and subsequently filed a chargesheet identifying negligence by permanent and temporary employees. However, on May 8, the Metropolitan Judicial Magistrate (Court No. 17) of Jaipur noted deficiencies in the police investigation. Consequently, the chargesheet was returned to the Investigating Officer, Hari Meena, with specific directives and a two-month period was allotted to conduct a fair and impartial inquiry. Currently, an investigation into the matter is ongoing.
However, the investigations have pointed out that the swing on which children played daily had not undergone regular maintenance. There were no proper safety inspections. No mandatory compliance checks. No accountability mechanism. And the price was paid by a child.
But this is not an isolated case.
On July 15, 2021, a 10-year-old child died after coming into contact with exposed electric wires inside a park at Varun Path in Jaipur’s Mansarovar area under Jaipur Greater Municipal Corporation limits. Residents alleged the wires had remained exposed for several days and complaints had gone unheard.
On May 4, 2026, merely three days after inauguration, a swing installed in a newly constructed multi-crore park in Anta town of Baran district uprooted from the ground and crashed while children were using it. A major tragedy was narrowly avoided.
Reality Check On Rajasthan's Parks: Poundrik Udyan
Spread across nearly 1.6 hectares and serving a surrounding population of almost one lakh people, Poundrik Udyan is among the few major public open spaces in the area. But what emerges on entering the park is a picture of systemic neglect. Most swings inside the park are damaged. Some have exposed iron edges, others hang unevenly, while several appear dangerously unstable. Parents remain in constant fear of children getting injured at any moment.
A Tal Katora resident Kamlesh Soni said, “Hundreds of people visit this park every morning and evening, but there are not enough safe facilities for children.”
The walking track is no better. It is cracked and broken in multiple places. Elderly visitors using the track for morning and evening walks face serious risks due to potholes and uprooted tiles. Several benches are broken. Stone seating slabs are damaged. The sanitation condition is no better.
Residents say stray dog numbers inside the park have increased and so have the number of dog-bite incidents.
Women visiting the garden too feel unsafe as security is a major concern. There is no permanent security guard. Residents allege anti-social elements gather inside the park regularly. The fear of chain-snatching and mobile theft keeps haunting the visitors.
Describing the deteriorating situation, Caretaker-cum-guard Raju said, "Things are really bad. People consume drugs here. If we stop them, they fight and threaten us. Several complaints have been lodged but no substantial action has been taken so far.”
Ajmer’s Parks Reflect Similar Decay
Ajmer Smart City Limited has executed several development projects across the city. But residents say the condition of public parks remains neglected. Shastri Nagar alone has four parks. Two contain children’s play equipment, while the other two are mainly used by walkers.
At first glance, the parks appear functional. However, a closer inspection tells another story.
When the ETV Bharat team examined a large slide inside Lal Bahadur Shastri Park, the structure visibly shook even with slight force. Children were giggling among themselves but the fear of an accident was visible on their faces. Some even came forward to demonstrate how unstable it had become.
A social activist Dr SD Mishra said the park was built around 25 years ago. But due to the negligence of the municipal corporation, it has been left to rot. “People come here for walks every morning and evening. Children come to play. Swings are installed here, but nobody responsible comes to inspect them or even check if the basic facilities exist, he said.”
The park’s treadmill equipment makes loud grinding noises due to lack of greasing and maintenance. On the other hand, there is barely any green grass left. An open gym installed under the Smart City project became dysfunctional within three years.
Residents allege anti-social elements occupy parts of the park during the day, play cards and intimidate children.
Manohar Songara, the official in-charge of gardens at the Ajmer Municipal Corporation, notes that the Corporation has jurisdiction over 51 parks. "All these gardens undergo periodic monitoring. Whenever swings or open-air gym equipment installed in these parks fall into disrepair, they are promptly repaired," he said, citing examples of the swings at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Garden in Shastri Nagar, which he said will be inspected and subsequently repaired, if need be. Furthermore, swings in other gardens will also be inspected to prevent potential accidents related to the playground equipment, he assured.
Kota’s Nehru Park: A Public Space In Distress
Nehru Park, located between Nayapura and Kota railway station, is among the city’s few major public gardens. Large numbers of residents arrive here for yoga, walking and recreation. Families bring children expecting a safe environment. Sadly, most return disappointed. All they get to see here is damaged swings and destroyed gym equipment.
Sanitation measures are in such a state that people visiting the park have to cover their noses to avoid the stench. "Garbage-filled trolleys remain dumped inside corners of the park, creating a foul smell. Toilets are in terrible condition. Women’s washrooms reportedly contain insects and are unhygienic," the visitors alleged, adding that proper drinking water facilities are also not available in the park.
Some even alleged that the parks turn into drug addicts' den at night.
Chandraprakash Mittal, a resident from a nearby locality, said, “There is only one gardener here who waters plants. No proper cleaning or maintenance is done. The track condition has become dangerous for knees and joints.” Nodding in agreement was Dadbada resident Mahesh Yogi. "The park is in a deplorable condition. The swings are broken. Children run the risk of falling and getting injured at any time. Rusted iron is visible everywhere, but nobody pays attention,” he stated, pointing at the pillars and benches.
Kota Development Authority (KDA) has taken over the management of 587 parks across the city and improvements are currently being undertaken in all of them, said Mukesh Chaudhary, Secretary of KDA. "This initiative encompasses the rectification of various facilities, ranging from swings to electricity, water supply, restrooms and walking tracks, while work remains pending in 47 parks," he stated, adding that instructions have been issued to the engineers to ensure that the facilities at Nehru Park are also restored promptly.
Parks That Were Meant To Heal Are Falling Sick
Parks are not merely green patches inside concrete cities. They are critical to children’s emotional development, physical fitness and mental health.
Ravi Jain, Secretary of the Local Self-Government Department, Rajasthan, stated that clear directives mandate that swings installed in parks and gardens under the jurisdiction of all urban local bodies across the state must not be broken. Instructions, he said, have been given to repair or replace these swings whenever necessary. "Directives are in place to take necessary measures to ensure adequate nighttime lighting, the absence of exposed electrical wires, robust security for women and children and regular monitoring of civil and electrical maintenance work. The Department will soon compile a ground report on all parks and gardens within the state's urban local bodies to ensure no park or garden becomes a potential accident site," he informed.
The Moot Point
The larger question remains unanswered. Despite budgets, smart-city projects and repeated promises, why are parks still unsafe?
India’s cities are expanding rapidly. Smart-city branding, gated societies and urban infrastructure projects continue to dominate civic narratives. But if children cannot safely use a swing inside a park, can a city truly call itself developed? A park is often the first public space where a child learns freedom, friendship and confidence. When that space becomes dangerous, the failure is not just administrative. It becomes societal.
(With inputs from Ankur Jakar in Jaipur, Priyank Sharma in Ajmer and Manish Gautam in Kota)
