Rabindra Sarobar will remain open for an extra hour in the morning and in the afternoon from Friday, Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA), the custodian of the park, has announced.
The park used to stay open from 6am to 9am, and again from 4pm till 6pm. From Friday, the premises will close at 10am and open again at 3pm.
Subhas Sarobar, in Beleghata in northeast Kolkata, will follow the same timings.
“Both Rabindra Sarobar and Subhas Sarobar will remain open from 6am to 10am and from 3pm to 6pm every day,” said a senior KMDA official.
Many Kolkatans, including doctors and public health experts, had said they found no logic in keeping parks closed for most of the day when all other spaces had been opened.
Doctors say the risk of transmission of Covid was lesser in an open-air space like a park than in closed-door spaces like malls or restaurants.
They also point out that Covid is going to stay for years and it’s time people went back to normal life taking appropriate safety measures.
The KMDA’s decision to keep Subhas Sarobar and Rabindra Sarobar open for two more hours every day failed to lift the mood of regular visitors. They felt the parks should be kept open for the entire day.
Joydeep Phukan, a resident of Dover Road in south Kolkata, said Rabindra Sarobar should remain open from the morning till the evening. “Everything has opened. Why keep parks closed? In fact, the decision to keep the premises open for just a few hours is leading to crowding, which needs to be avoided during the pandemic,” he said.
