The Hindu             10.02.2014

Tambaram’s Gandhi Park set for green makeover

One of the oldest landmarks in Tambaram municipal limits, the sprawling Gandhi Park in East Tambaram, is set for a new look soon.

Walkers’ pathway and cascades apart, the park will get its central library back.

After being left neglected, despite a facelift some years ago, the park is now closed for renovation work. A senior official from the municipal administration and water supply department told The Hindu a tender has been floated to the tune of Rs. 23 lakh to complete the renovation.

Already, a nine-feet-wide walkers’ path, with lights, is ready. A sum of Rs. 50 lakh has been spent on various kinds of infrastructural work inside the park.

The new work schedule includes planting of ornamental plants and installation of a couple of cascades. The park will be ready for public use in a couple of months, said the official.

A library building, in the central portion of the park, has been built at a cost of Rs. 26 lakh. “The earlier library was inaugurated by Lourdammal Simon, the then local administration minister, in 1957. The new facility will provide users with more space and lot of study materials,” said V. Nagarajan, a senior citizen from Kambar Street, East Tambaram.

The single-storey building will be able to accommodate more than 50 readers at a time and will have 30,000 books and magazines.

Over the past year or so, the local body has attached a lot of importance to development of parks that have been neglected for many years, the official said. Improvement works are going on in a few parks and more such open spaces will be developed, he said.

Besides carrying out improvement work, the municipal administration should ensure the park is maintained properly, residents said. The timings should be regulated.

The park should be open only for a few hours in the morning and evening and should be kept locked the rest of the day, they said.