COIMBATORE: A reserved site that was used for more than a couple of decades as a public toilet, gambling den and other anti-social activities has turned into a park at Ramnagar, thus meeting the long-pending demand of the residents for a green space in their colony.

Mayor R. Venkatachalam said that the park was constructed on the 2.28 acre reserved site at a cost of Rs. 59.40 crore. While the Coimbatore Corporation spent Rs. 39.90 crore, Rural Industries Minister Pongalur N. Palanisamy provided Rs.19.50 crore from the MLAs Constituency Development Fund. The Mayor said the Corporation had also provided a circular walkers' path of 0.5 km.

Welcoming the creation of the park, president of Ramnagar Residents' Welfare Association T.V. Kalyanakrishnan said on Friday that the residents were glad that their long struggle had finally got the desired result.

After calling for efforts to end the abuse of the site, the residents took up with the Corporation six-and-a-half years ago the need for creating a park on it. Later, they approached Mr. Palanisamy in the run-up to the 2006 Assembly elections. “Our member Mohan Sankar pursued this with Mr. Palanisamy who, in turn, promised us during the campaign that he would work for the establishment of the park,” Mr. Kalyanakrishnan recalled. The now Corporation South Zone Chairman P. Pynthamil also pursued the proposal closely, he said.

During a thanksgiving visit to Ramnagar after winning from the Coimbatore East Assembly Constituency, Mr. Palanisamy met the residents and vowed to get the park established.

The Corporation then began efforts to draw up a plan for the park with the association joint secretary B. Govindaraj also pursuing the project closely.

The residents had opposed a move to turn the site into a parking lot. They insisted that only a park should come up on it as the site was marked for this purpose.

Mr. Kalyanakrishnan said now that the park had been established, it should be made more user-friendly by providing more benches, adequate lighting and more play equipment for children. These were required as 500-600 people came to the park in the morning.

Courtesy - Hindu