A top official of the Engineering department told Newsline the department undertakes repair work in parks as and when the Horticulture department gives it information about any damage to their infrastructure. He said he was not aware of Tuesday’s incident.

The Horticulture department has a different story to tell. An official told Newsline that department is primarily concerned with the maintenance of greenery in the park. “We have overseers who visit these parks and inspect them but their main focus is on the plants there. However, if they happen to see damage to a gate or wall, they inform the Engineering department. The prime responsibility here lies with the Engineering department. They have a JE in each ward, who is duty-bound to look into all civil work in the ward, including the condition of parks. They are also responsible for checking whether material used for fixing a gate is of good quality. Horticulture personnel cannot possibly do this and the Engineering department has to take the blame for such incidents. An added problem is that children often swing on these gates and this weakens the hinges, which eventually come off,” he said.

MCD Standing Committee Chairman Vijender Gupta too said such accidents took place because hinges of gates came off over time, as children often swing on them. “We found a way out of this recently. In all new gates we have constructed in the last one year, we put an iron clamp as protection on the hinges of each gate, so that it doesn’t fall,” he told Newsline.