Kerala - Kochi   

City lacks a place to unwind

Photo: H. Vibhu

In a bad state: The slushy Durbar Hall Ground in Kochi needs urgent maintenance. —

KOCHI: City residents can choose from the many places when it comes to tourist locales in the suburbs. But they are hard-pressed to find a place to unwind at the end of a hectic day.

The few parks and walkways developed by the District Tourism Promotion Council and different government agencies are located at the western end of the city. This has denied the people residing in localities east of the narrow North and South overbridges their share of recreation.

Even the few open spaces in the western end of city are not well-maintained. The Durbar Hall Ground is one of the worst maintained. Known for its vast lawn and a walkway around it, the green and well-lit place is now in ruins. Poor maintenance and water-logging has spoiled the lawn.

The ground where children used to run and play around now resembles a ploughed field.

The contractor who collects the parking fee from vehicles parked around the lawn has failed to maintain the ground which was developed into an attractive hub by the DTPC around five years ago.

Says Rajesh Kannan, a city-based lawyer, “The DH Ground was one place where we could go with our family. It was safe compared to the Marine Drive and the Subhash Park—places that many families shun after dusk. But nowadays, one cannot even walk on the slushy ground. The few visitors to the ground occupy the benches on the side, leaving little room for families.”

The Marine Drive walkway looks a little cleaner than a few months ago. But many areas are dark and crowded. The proposal to extend the walkway to the first Goshree bridge and on the southern side to Rajendra Maidan, is yet to fructify.

The DTPC-maintained musical walkway on the southern side is in better shape than the northern stretch. “My family and I love a stroll through the walkway. But the dirt alongside the backwaters and the nauseating smell from it are unbearable,” says Anjali Vishwanathan, a city resident. She says that one cannot even sit on the walkway’s parapet, because the place is littered with plastic and other waste thrown around by visitors.

The Children’s Park, the DTPC-maintained pond within and the adjacent renewable-energy park are relatively better maintained. Aimed at benefiting people living on the eastern side of the city, Kerala Tourism has embarked on a project to build tourist amenities on the banks of Kadambrayar.

“A restaurant and toilet are being built in the first phase. A boat jetty and other amenities will follow,” said a Tourism official.

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