The Times of India  11.08.2010

LUCKNOW: After being declared a no-hoarding zone, Lalbagh is all set to have a new park, this time near Bhopal House. On Thursday, Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) started dredging operations on the intersection along Bhopal House having a series of shops selling automobile spare parts.

JCBs were pressed into service to bulldoze the divider running in the middle of the road to pave way for a vacant piece of land. A posse of police was present on the spot. The traffic too was diverted around Bhopal House triggering chaos, which was, however, overcome by traffic cops soon.

The locality already has two parks -- Dayanidhan Park and Jhandewala Park -- which too would go for modification. Municipal commissioner S K Singh said that the new park would add beauty to the locality which is otherwise marred by traffic congestion and illegal parking lots. According to him, the park would cost LMC anywhere in the range of Rs 25 lakh to Rs 30 lakh in the process, while the executive committee of LMC would decide upon a name for the park.

The facelift of Lalbagh comes close on the heels of that of Hazratganj, which too has been declared a no-hoarding zone, with authorities planning to get the upmarket area painted in a uniform colour scheme.

The park, claimed Singh, would have benches and fountains for shopkeepers as well as visitors. "The area already had two parks which were, however, not being maintained as per the expectations,'' the municipal commissioner said.

Dayanidhan Park had fallen prey to encroachment. In fact, the park had a Jal Sansthan pumping station besides a garbage dumpyard. The pumping station was bulldozed recently, with LMC planning to get it constructed underground. Singh said that the dumpyard too would be made underground.