Parks maintained by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation finally opened their gates for two hours in the evening on Thursday. Many parks had not opened in the evening on Wednesday despite the civic body’s announcement that they would remain open between 4pm and 6pm every day from September 1.
Till August 31, the KMC parks opened only between 6am and 9am.
The Telegraph visited Deshabandhu Park on Raja Dinendra Street and Allen Park on Park Street on Thursday. Both were open and had visitors. Farah Khan, a fashion designer who has a studio in a Park Street building, was one of those walking at Allen Park on Thursday evening. “Earlier, I used to go to the gym. I am avoiding it because of the pandemic. It is good that parks are opening in the evening. It is not possible for many like me to walk in the morning,” she said. Khan, however, wanted the evening hours extended till 8pm. “Most people who work in offices will not be able to take a walk if parks close at 6pm,” she said.
The Telegraph had found Allen Park, Maharana Pratap Udyan on Shakespeare Sarani and Deshapriya Park on Rashbehari Avenue closed on Wednesday evening.