According to a report in the Times of India, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation has been looking forward to the renovation of Elliot Park for more than a decade. The renovation work includes a concrete layer for the entire 2.5 km pathway that runs through the park, laying of new paver block tiles, upgrade of the drainage system and much more.
CM Mamata Banerjee has been regular to this park since assuming office in 2011. A poor drainage system has led to unsettling of the paver blocks that were laid to create a pathway in 2013.
“We had received a message that the CM had faced difficulties in taking her evening stroll after a downpour last month. Parts of the pathway of the park were submerged due to seepage of water from Maidan. Paver blocks in some parts of the park had broken due to waterlogging,” a KMC parks department official said.
According to the plan, the KMC will re-lay the entire pathway with designer tiles. However, before laying new tiles, the civic body will first take up concretisation of the underbelly of the pathway to ensure strength of the pathway and its durability too. The civic body will also clean up a major tank located at the entrance of the park which has been one of the major attractions since the park was opened to public in 2004. Besides the main tank, the KMC will renovate a lily pool which has remained neglected for years. The KMC parks department has drawn up a plan and is gearing up to invite a tender for the renovation work early next month.
However, a section of the KMC drainage department officials expressed apprehension that the civic body would not be able to upgrade the drainage lines for want of a comprehensive sewerage and drainage network in the Maidan area. “At the most we can revamp our own drainage network inside the park. But that won’t guarantee that there will be no waterlogging,” a KMC official said.
The regular joggers and walkers are happy over the civic body’s decision to take up a renovation plan.
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