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Risky fun and games
How safe is the kiddies' corner at the Viharamahadevi Park?
By Hiranthi Fernando
Seven-year-old Aqeel, has his left arm encased in bulky plaster, secured by a sling. He can only put on one sleeve of his shirt. Aqeel sustained a serious fracture of his elbow, when he fell off a climbing frame at the Kiddies' Fun Park at Colombo's Viharamahadevi Park.

On Sunday evening, two weeks ago, Aqeel had gone to the kiddies' park with his parents. "The park was full. My son wanted to climb on everything," said Aqeel's mother. However, she had been nervous about the safety of her child.
"When he wanted to climb up to the tree house, I did not want him to go alone so I climbed up too. It was so high and the steps so steep that I was scared to come down."

Aqeel was hanging on the bars of a horizontal ladder when he fell off. The drop was too much for the little boy. He fell on his arm on the hard ground and was in severe pain. When his parents found he could not stretch his arm, they rushed him to a private hospital for an x-ray. The surgeon ordered immediate setting of the bones in the theatre under anaesthesia. Aqeel was kept in the hospital overnight. "The doctor told us it could have been very serious if we had not brought him immediately," said Aqeel's mother. Aqeel missed school for ten days on account of his accident.

"We wish to highlight our son's accident as a warning for other parents who take their children to this park," his parents said. "A park should be safe for children. There are no safety measures at all at the Kiddies' Fun Park. There should be a soft landing with sand or sawdust at the bottom of the slides and climbing frames, in case the children fall off. The tree house and the slide that are being built are far too high and dangerous for children to play on. People tell us we should sue the Municipal Council. We do not want to do that. All we are asking is that the park be made safe for children."

Colombo Mayor Omar Kamil conceded that some adjustments were needed in the kiddies' park designed by the CMC Design Division. He himself had climbed to the top of the tree house and found the climb too steep, he said. Now the plan is to construct a platform halfway up. As regards the slide, although the design was for two slides they have decided to construct only the lower slide. They also plan to put up notice boards giving age restrictions on the climbing equipment, the Mayor said.

In its efforts to upgrade the kiddies park and make it more attractive to youngsters, the CMC needs to ensure that children are not at risk in any way and that proper safety standards are maintained with the play equipment.

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