Bhubaneswar, Oct. 23 -- Parks built for recreation and exercise are lying neglected in Chandbali town of Odisha's Bhadrak district. Grass and bushes have overgrown in several parks, and exercise equipment and other facilities are falling apart due to lack of maintenance.

Chandbali NAC has 15 parks, of which 14 were taken up for development under the MUKTA scheme. The old Nehru Park was among the ones planned to be developed.

The Smart Park near Chandbali College is the largest of these parks. Around Rs 3 crore was spent on its development, while the other parks were built at a cost of Rs 10 lakh to Rs 15 lakh each.

Despite the expenditure, several facilities now lie in a state of disrepair. Broken chairs, scattered bricks and rusted me...