Naya Bazaar resident Salman was a tad sceptical when his family planned the New Year’s picnic at a reclaimed coal mine here on Tuesday.

“At the end of the day, I couldn’t help but thank my phuphaji (paternal aunt’s husband) for organising such a memorable trip. Gokul Dham in Lodna, Jharia, around 12km from my house, is indeed a paradise with thousands of flowering plants,” the 20-year-old said.

He recalled with mirth how his sister Diva Parveen, a Class VIII student, and their cousins were hooked to the swing. So much so that the children had to be lured away with plates of fried rice and Manchurian chicken.

Haripado Mahto, a BCCL worker and resident of Barari colliery area, echoed Salman.

“The 17-acre park is so beautiful and serene that it makes joy course through your veins. My family and I have been coming here for three years now. It is hard to imagine that a decade or so ago, this place was a mine dump, where coal dust hung so heavy in the air that it was difficult to breathe,” Mahto said.

Even four years ago, this getaway in Lodna was a dumping ground filled with mounds of earth, rocks and unused coal. Today, it boasts more than 33,000 plants and trees. The park has three tiers — an upper one with a garden, a middle zone with lawns and a picnic area comprising some hutments. Two water bodies add to the heavenly splendour.

Kalyanji Prasad, general manager (Lodna) of BCCL that maintains the park, said the footfall had increased by more than 50 per cent in a year. From 500 picnickers on January 1, 2018, the crowd count touched 800 on Tuesday.

“Such is the fame of this mine-turned-park that educational institutions have made excursions here a part of their eco-tourism project. Students of DAV Public School-Sindri and DAV-Moonidih, and a batch from the applied geophysics department of IIT(ISM) keep visiting the park for studies,” he said.

Prasad said the wide variety of flora, including medicinal and ornamental plants, and fruit-bearing trees, made Gokul Dham a magnet for independent nature lovers as well. “Now, we have plans to increase the park area at the rate of five hectares a year,” he added.

Colliery manager A.K. Pandey, who is credited for single-handedly planting many a sapling at the park, said the overwhelming response had prompted them to turn yet another abandoned mine on five acres in adjoining Kujama into a green lung. “We are glad to be doing our bit for the planet,” he said.