Nine parks in city to get a facelift, GCDA project to cost nearly ₹3cr

Kochi: In a solution to the lack of enough green open spaces in the city, nine neighbourhood parks under the custody of Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) will soon get a facelift. The parks, which are situated in Panampilly Nagar and Gandhi Nagar areas, will be fully renovated under Cochin Smart Mission Ltd (CSML) project at a cost of around Rs 2.87 crore. The tendering works of all parks have been completed and the deadline is August 31.The parks selected for renovation in Panampilly Nagar are MIG Park, Children’s Park, Golden Park, Videocon Park and Shastri Nagar Park. The parks in Gandhi Nagar selected for renovation are MIG Park, Residential Park, Garden Walkway Park and Ground Gallery Park.These parks, set up by GCDA in 1980s, are in a poor condition due to lack of periodic maintenance. They not only fail to attract visitors but also are a haven for anti-social elements after dusk due to lack of proper lighting. Also, some of the parks face illegal dumping of waste by the public. GCDA aims to resolve these issues and transform them from mere neighbourhood parks to public parks aiming at more visitors, irrespective of age.“The lack of enough green open places for the public to sit and relax or conduct a gathering is a major issue faced by Kochi city. The renovation of these parks is the first step from GCDA towards resolving this issue. The parks have been designed giving importance to its aesthetics and entertainment aspects to give it a modern look with the aim of attracting more public. We are also identifying other unused plots of GCDA to develop them as public parks,” said GCDA chairman K Chandran Pillai.The renovation will be carried out without changing the basic structure of the plot. As the funds are limited, CCTV surveillance will not be implemented in the initial phase, but GCDA aims to install the cameras later by finding additional funding.However, the designs have been customized to meet the requirements of people in respective areas. “We finalized the designs after consulting with respective residents’ association and divisional councillors. For example, in the Videocon Park, they need a multi-play area in which multiple children’s rides are encompassed into one. Tiling and lush green lawns are common in all parks,” said a GCDA official.The total area of the nine parks is 9,344 sqm. While Residential Park in Gandhi Nagar is the largest one with 1,795 sqm area, MIG park in Gandhi Nagar is the smallest with 646 sqm area. The designs have been completed by Bengaluru-based Soulcities Urban Infrastructure.