The dumping ground near Tank 9 in CK Block will not be reeking of garbage and piled with filthy scrap any more. Over a year, the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has undertaken a beautification drive and converted the spot into a park for children and senior citizens of the neighbourhood.
The inauguration was held last Sunday. Minister Sujit Bose declared the park open to the public along with BMC’s board of administrators chairperson Krishna Chakraborty. Joint commissioner Debasis Ghosh also attended the programme.
Civic board of administrators chief Krishna Chakraborty addresses the audience with minister Sujit Bose to her left. The Telegraph
“I am glad that CK Block now has a park for children. However, the administration can only acquire funds and build a park for the public. But it is the duty of the residents to maintain the park. Each person in the block must be responsible for its upkeep, so that the place remains spic and span. One shouldn’t make the place dirty nor should those in their late teens or older be seen playing on the swings and slides. The age limit of children who should be playing in the park must not exceed 10 years. Otherwise all the equipment will break and the purpose will not be served,” said Bose.
Chakraborty said: “The women of the neighbourhood have often told me that they need a park where toddlers could play while their grandparents took a walk around the premises. I have been trying to arrange funds and finally the place is ready for the residents.”
Locals living near the stretch are happy that the park is finally open. “This place used to be a filthy spot. Most of the time people would just toss garbage in plastic bags here and drive away. Others would use this place as a public urinal. Things started rolling when Krishnadi assumed office, because we had tried to make this happen earlier too. But nobody took heed of our request,” said Gopinath Sarkar, a resident of BL Block. He was at the park with his grandson, who was busy playing.
On the first day, quite a few children were seen walking in and getting on the swings and slides, unaware of the speeches being delievered on the stage. “The best thing about children is they don’t care about who is saying what. They will walk in like royalty and sit on the swings. That for me is the purpose of this place, to make the children feel at home,” added Bose.
“The most important thing is to maintain cleanliness and hygiene in the block. That makes for a healthy environment. My house is just opposite to the park and we have seen how dirty this place used to be. It used to stink, it was so bad,” said Amita Dave, a resident of CJ Block.
Joint commissioner Debasis Ghosh said: “There are times we see older people walk into parks and break the swings. It has happened in a lot of parks in Salt Lake. But this park will have an age limit for children. This cannot be a place where youths come in and play cricket or football. This is solely for toddlers and I request locals to be vigilant.”
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