A three-member sub-committee formed to look into Greater Cochin Development Authority’s (GCDA) multimedia laser show at Rajendra Maidan has given its go ahead to the project. M.K. Prasad, a member of the sub-committee, said no building had been proposed at the maidan as part of the project. “There will be only a water jet screen on which lasers will be reflected. There will be no building, roof, or gallery. However, we will be keeping a close watch on the progress of the project,” he said.
GCDA chairman N. Venugopal and social activist K. Aravindakshan are the other two members of the committee.
The committee in its report said it was duty-bound to ensure that Rajendra Maidan was kept as it was without allowing any commercial interests or constructions. “It will not be allowed to become a closed concrete structure that deprives the place of its open space character or makes it inaccessible to people and out of bounds for cultural, literary, social, and political gatherings,” the report said.
The committee was appointed at a meeting chaired by former judge of the Supreme Court V.R. Krishna Iyer at his residence last week after the laser show project came under criticism.
Mr. Venugopal explained the finer points of the project at the meeting.
The members of a committee for the conservation of public spaces expressed their concerns over the project at the meeting. In response, Mr. Venugopal placed before them a CD about a similar centre functioning in Singapore, which, he said, would dispel all concerns over the project.
