[wpResize]

The new facility has better floor tiles.

Residents of Malaz district have expressed their happiness at the construction of a new recreational facility in an area which used to be a public park with green trees and facilities where children could play.

“The old park seemed to have been demolished to replace it with a new recreational area. It could be seen this early that there will be recreational facilities for children,” said Mohammed Haider, a Pakistani who has been living in the area for over three decades.

He misses the old park where he and his family used to spend leisurely time.
Jun C. Barbadillo, a supervisor and caretaker at an Arabic restaurant along Sitteen Street, said that he is happy that a new park is being constructed.

“It appears that the local government is merely renovating the old park but I hope there will a place where I can jog or walk after knocking off from work at night,” he said.

He also hopes that ornamental trees will be planted in addition to the existing date trees.

“In the old park, I used to jog with the birds chirping from the branches of the ornamental trees. I was immensely entertained. It reminded me of home when I was younger and less busy in the Philippines,” he said.

Sunny May Umbrad, a Filipino homemaker, expressed elation at the fact that she and her family do not have to go far for relaxation.

“Once the new recreational facility is finished we don’t need to go far anymore to be entertained. We just go down the building where our accommodation is and walk to the nearby park to while away the hours,” she said.

She said spending time at the new recreational facility would be much more beneficial since they don’t need to spend on soda, water or food if they feel hungry.

“We can eat at home before going there. That means savings for us, unlike now that we unavoidably spend if we go to the malls or parks in some other parts of the city,” she said.

She said while the government has constructed beautiful recreational facilities that have been thronged by residents of the city, it’s also trying to improve existing ones either by renovation or rebuilding them.

“This is a good development. Many of us were saddened when the old park in the neighborhood was demolished. But such sadness has been replaced with happiness because of the undergoing construction of a replacement,” she said.

She noted that while the old park had old concrete floor, the new recreational facility has new and gleaming tiles.

[wpResize]