Jangal Bagh: A park in need of rehabilitation

SHIBERGHAN (Pajhwok): Some residents of Shiberghan, the capital of northern Jawzjan province, have urged the authorities to pay attention to the deteriorating condition of the only public park in the city.

As a result of continued negligence, entertainment facilities have diminished at the park known as Jangal Bagh, where some trees have started going dry.

Visitors expressed disappointment over the existing condition of Jangal Bagh, saying most trees had started to dry up. In the next few years, they feared, the facility would be full of dry wood in a few years.

But Agriculture Director Qari Ebadullah Ansari blamed visitors for harming the park. He said rehabilitation and uplift work was carried out annually at the park.

At least 170 people have been hired for the plantation of fruit and non-fruit saplings and o look after nurseries at the park.

Bashir Ahmad, one of the visitors, told Pajhwok Afghan News: “I often come to Jangal Bagh but the existing condition of the park hurts me.”

He warned: “If the authorities don’t pay attention to the rehabilitation of the park, it would turn into a dry wood ground.”

Ahmad said most of the trees in the park were about to go dry. He asked the relevant quarters to focus on the upkeep of the facility before it was too late.

Khairullah, another resident of Shiberghan, said there was no other park in the city apart from Jangal Bagh.

He believed the previous government’s negligence and lack of attention from current officials could lead to the deprivation of Shiberghan residents of the only entertainment facility on the city.

He said officials should pay attention to the rehabilitation and maintenance of the park and should execute a proper irrigation system for plants and trees.

Agriculture Director Ansari promised new saplings would be planted in place of dried trees.

“NGOs cooperating with the Agriculture Department have also expressed their willingness to cooperate with the government on rehabilitation of this park,” the director claimed.

“In the coming six months, Jangal Bagh would become a beautiful and lush-green park, meeting the required standards,” he pledged.

Jangal Bagh, an 80 years old park in Shiberghan, is spread over 200 acres of land. The facility is a major draw for entertainment-starved people.

nh/mud