Nolambur residents have to wait for their first park

Two years ago after construction work was started, the half-built facility on Third Main Road has been left abandoned.

April 25, 2015 06:26 pm | Updated 06:26 pm IST

The newly developed park at Nolambur 3rd Main Road. Photo: M. Vedhan

The newly developed park at Nolambur 3rd Main Road. Photo: M. Vedhan

Construction work on a brand new park at Third Main Road in Nolambur came to a standstill after the private contractor abandoned the project, citing escalation in costs of the raw materials.

 Residents, who were eagerly waiting for the park, will continue to go to Mangal Eri Park, the nearest park, which is around two kilometres from Third Main Road.

“The locality has everything — water supply, electricity, drainage and bitumen-topped roads. But it lacks one thing — a park for many years now,” said K. Satish, a resident of Nolambur.

  The half-constructed park is centrally located and is within the limits of Corporation ward 143. The facility was approved following years of effort by resident associations including the Nolambur Residents Welfare Association. As most of the residents in the locality are retired government officials and senior citizens, residents felt that a park would be of help. It now seems a far-fetched dream.

 The work at the park was started two years ago by the Ambattur zone of the civic body with the general funds of the Corporation. The park was to have all the facilities, including a generator for power back-up and a compound wall with round-the-clock security.

Once completed, it was supposed to be one of the biggest parks in the neighbourhood. As per norms, a public park should serve a minimum of 5,000 people in the neighbourhood. “We have been waiting for this facility for many years. But the Corporation officials remain non-committal about the resumption of the project,” said S. Meenakshi, a resident of Nolambur.  

 According to officials, the land where the  park is being built is an Open Space Reservation (OSR) land meant for creation of a public facility. However, for many years, the space was left unused.

The Corporation has decided to safeguard its properties especially open lands that are either encroached upon or abandoned. Instead of fencing such open plots, the civic body decided to convert such OSR lands into public facilities that would not only help residents spend quality time but also protect public lands from being misused by anti-socials. “The work on the under-construction park would start soon after the issue is sorted out with the contractor,” said a Corporation official.

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