Hubballi’s first digital park falls into disrepair

Hubballi: The first digital park in Hubballi, located at Kumbakonam, Baillappa Nagar, has fallen into disrepair due to the lack of maintenance by Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC).
The park, which was transformed into a digital hub in 2018, once offered facilities such as WiFi, mobile chargers, and internet access, all powered by solar panels.However, these services have ceased, leading to growing frustration among residents who have been urging HDMC to restore the facilities, but to no avail.
The garden spread over 30 guntas comes under HDMC’s ward No. 47. Residents from Krishna Nagar, Deshpande Nagar, Bhavani Nagar, Chandrakanth Nagar, Byahatti plot, and other areas are the most frequent visitors to the park. Although children and college students often visit the park, authorities have neglected developing it.
Kumbakonam Development Association secretary CBL Hegde said the park was developed by HDMC in 2018. “HDMC is not maintaining the park properly. Most residents surrounding the garden come for walking, and children play in the garden. Several requests have been made but have not yielded any results,” he urged.
Girija Naregal, a resident of Krishna Nagar, said that she and her friends visit the park for walking daily.
“The authorities have developed it with the intention of promoting a green environment. For the benefit of residents here, the park was developed as a digital garden. There was WiFi, charging facilities, display, etc., but all these facilities have been stopped. The authorities should restart them,” she urged.
When contacted, HDMC commissioner Ishwar Ullagaddi said they did not notice the facilities had stopped at the digital garden at Baillappa Nagar. “We will visit the garden and take necessary action to develop it,” he assured.