A hangout zone has come up below the Axis Mall flyover in New Town where people can enjoy board games. A few temporary snack stalls have also come up in the zone.
The idea was to create an entertainment zone and to ensure that the space does not get encroached upon by hawkers, a senior official of the New Town Kolkata Development Authority said.
The concrete girders as well as the spans of the flyover have been painted with bright colours and paver blocks have been installed below the flyover to create walking tracks.
Lawn beds have been placed at regular intervals along with concrete table-like structures.
Seating arrangements that are made out of concrete and are not movable have been placed around the tables. People can bring different board games to the table or borrow them from any of the stalls.
NKDA chairman Debashis Sen said the idea was to create an area where commuters can take a break and residents can indulge in a round of adda or play games.
“This zone will serve multiple purposes. The zone built is built for entertainment but it will also ensure that the area below the flyover is not overrun by encroachers and hawkers. Moreover, this place won’t be deserted at night and women and other commuters will feel safer,” Sen said.
Large spaces on New Town, including walkways and even parts of roads, are getting encroached upon by hawkers as well as vendors who park their vans on the roads and sell anything from vegetables to fast food.
Samaresh Das, the chairman of New Town Forum and News, a residents body of New Town said that the initiative should ward off illegal encroachers.
“Not only is this an enclosed space but security will also be there and we are hopeful that the are below this flyover will not be taken over by hawkers,” Das said.
According to him they are already planning to hold a few board game tournaments and meets in the coming few months.
A chess training camp is also on the cards, an NKDA official said.