If MCK is interested in taking up plantation, it should be done by reopening the closed Helipad park on the Collectorate premises
The authorities should have minimal knowledge about the growing vehicular population and the shortage of parking spaces
Incidentally, there is no guarantee for the growth of the saplings planted on the parking areas in the Collectorate
KARIMNAGAR, AUGUST 30, 2025: Appreciating the initiative taken by the Municipal Corporation of Karimnagar for the plantation of saplings on the premises of the Collectorate, but MCK authorities had converted the parking place for the plantation of saplings, denying the parking space for the hordes of vehicles visiting the Collectorate office premises, including the State Bank of India.
Municipal Commissioner Praful Desai had personally supervised the plantation of saplings on the premises of the Collectorate opposite the State Bank of India bank branch on Saturday. Ironically, it is the parking space for the vehicles visiting the Collectorate, including the SBI branch. There is a parking shed also on the premises, as can be seen in the picture.
The idea of the plantation is good, but not on the premises of the Collectorate. Instead, it should have been taken up on the Helipad park in the vicinity of the Collectorate. Then, Collector Debabrata Kanta, with a vision had developed the Helipad park in the year 1999 by constructing three Helipads and taking up plantation of the saplings and greenery. Similarly, another Collector, Sumita Dawra, had taken up a massive plantation on the premises of the helipad park, which was converted into Centenary park as part of the Karimnagar town’s centenary celebrations way back in the year 2004.
Thanks to visionless leaders, the existing Collectorate office complex, which is the first collectorate in the integrated Andhra Pradesh to house all the departments on a single premises, was destroyed in the name of the construction of the new Collectorate complex. Instead of choosing the Satavahana University Pharmacy college lands for the construction of the Collectorate of the picturesque Lower Manair Dam, the officials destroyed the existing old Collectorate, which was the model one in the integrated Andhra Pradesh state.
Now, the already congested Collectorate complex is being further destroyed with the plantation of the saplings on the parking area. If the authorities had any vision, they should have constructed a cellar for parking on the new Collectorate office premises. But it was not done, and the existing parking space is being converted into a plantation zone for the reasons better known to the authorities concerned.
If the authorities are so concerned about the plantation of saplings, they can do so on the premises of Helipad park, which already has several neem plants. Let the authorities first open the Helipad park, which has been closed since 2021, after dumping the waste material for the construction of the new Collectorate. It is the only lung space for the people of the town, and the officials should reopen the Helipad for the benefit of the people of Karimnagar.
Already, the district authorities had denied walking on the premises of the Circus ground and the Old High school ground by converting it into a commercial park. There was only Helipad park, which was closed in the name of construction of a new collectorate. It is high time, the authorities take measures for the reopening of the Helipad and allow the people to walk on the lush green lawns amid plenty of trees.
