It pained Supraja Srinivasan no end to hear the shrill scream of the saw cutting through a tree and the final thud of a tree falling to the ground. Until last month, Supraja was being treated to these distressing sounds; her house overlooks the Nageswara Rao Park in Mylapore. Until last month, when many trees were being cut, she would scurry to the park and confront the contractor at the site about it, only to be told to talk to the executive engineer of Greater Chennai Corporation. Now, the sound of concrete being poured on the ground is keeping this Luz Avenue resident on the edge.

“The extent of concrete being laid on the park is alarming, you must come and see it. Does it make sense to put so much concrete in a park?” she wants residents to question the nature of work being carried out at the park.

She believes the redevelopment work at Nageswara Rao park is doing it more bad than good.

For her part, Supraja has been writing to various authorities including the Mylapore MLA and the Chief Minister seeking that a fresh look be taken at the plan.

On the GCC’s grievance portal, she says, her complaint was either removed or cancelled without a reason.

As someone who has grown up around the park and enjoyed its various benefits, Supraja has every reason to question the nature of work that was commissioned during the previous regime.

The ongoing work which includes construction of a play area, a fountain, a gazebo and food kiosks will interfere with the park’s environmental balance.

“One tree fell because they dug up a trench and the tree could not hold its weight. I requested that they transplant the tree but I do not think that is happening,” Supraja says she also wrote to NGO Nizhal.

Luz Avenue, she says, rarely gets flooded in the event of heavy rains or floods thanks to the park.

“The park acts like a sink absorbing all the water during heavy rains. With so much concreting, that looks unlikely,” she says.

Although Supraja is part of the WhatsApp group of Luz Avenue West Residents Association, she was not aware of the consultation meeting, if any, held before the proposal to start redevelopment of the park began.

“I have a packed schedule and there are only some things I can do. We need collective action to prevent the green space from diminishing further,” says the working professional who maintains a khamba at home to compost waste and makes trips to Wasted 360’s office in T Nagar to dispose of recyclable waste from friends and neighbours.

She invites more people to rally together to talk to the MLA. The work has also skipped deadline; and it is still not too late to act.

All that she wants from the authorities is that they assure residents that the area would face no water logging and promise them the park will get its lost greenery.