Pune: The Pune Municipal Corporation has decided to reopen the gardens and public parks in the city for citizens from November 1. This decision has been taken given the reduced cases of COVID-19 in the city for the past few days.

The gardens in the city were closed for public access for the last seven months. When the unlock phases began, the PMC had opened gardens for citizens with restrictions. Later, Mayor Murlidhar Mohol had opposed the decision citing a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases. Since then the gardens were closed for public access.

Now the PMC has decided to open the gardens from November 1. While permitting access to these public places, the PMC will be putting some restrictions on citizens and will also issue guidelines for citizens and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the concerned departments.

Mohol said, a decision has been taken to reopen the gardens in the city from November 1. Citizens have cooperated well with the local administration due to which the spread of coronavirus in the city could be contained effectively. Hence, we have decided to allow gardens to reopen with proper precautions and safety measures in place. Citizens should continue to take care while being at public places including the gardens.