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.
