Thane: Close to a month after the TOI highlighted the near-ruins conditions of a once sprawling public garden at Dhokali, the civic administration here plunged into action and re-opened the refurbished public garden which was shut for over a year.TOI, in its edition dated August 8, had put the spotlight on the Nandi Baba park at Dhokali and questioned the civic administration for the neglect and the inconvenience caused to public due to the closure of a recreation spot in their neighborhood.The municipal authorities soon swung into action and team of civic officials, contractors and security guards set about reviving the Nandi Baba park back to its initial glory, bringing back the smiles on the faces of the children.The fully-equipped public garden was thrown open to public on Sunday.Sanjay Bhoir, the local Shiv Sena corporator said, “We had to close the park due to certain repair work. The main entrance gate had collapsed a few months ago because of which we had shut the premises. We were waiting for the rains to slow down after which we had decided to conduct the repair work. Three days ago we have reopened the facility after cleaning the premises.”Agreeing with Bhoir, deputy municipal commissioner Omprakash Divate, who heads the tree and garden department at the Thane Municipal Corporation said, “We expedited the repair works and decided to revive and reopen the park by fixing minor things which had been broken earlier. The park is functioning smoothly now.”Located adjacent to the Nandi baba temple, the park inaugurated in January 2012 was considered an oasis amidst the concrete mess with its lush landscapes, wooden bridges, colouful benches, jogging/walking tracks and mini waterfalls.The half-acre premise soon after started losing its charm and became the victim of chronic neglect by the Thane Municipal Corporation, inviting bitter criticism from the residents, with some even claiming that their repeated queries were also going unanswered.“As countless queries regarding this matter were going in vain, we decided to seek the help of the media. We needed some answers as to why this place is lying vacant and in complete shambles. This is the only such space in the vicinity and people looked forward to send their kids or go for a casual stroll in the park. Let’s hope that the doors remain open for lifetime now,” said Ananya Narayan, a resident of Dhokali.

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