A toy train that operated in the Ernakulam Children’s Park has been reintroduced after years, with District Council for Child Welfare (DCCW) receiving considerable flak for the inordinate delay in readying it for use by visitors to the park.
The toy train service sponsored by a media house was inaugurated on Sunday by District Collector Jafar Malik. T.J. Vinod, MLA, was among those who took the first ride in the five-coach train, along with children who won the national merit-cum-means exam under the Pratyusha scheme.
Children aged less than 10 years have to pay ₹10 per round trip and the others ₹20.
The DCCW and Kerala Electrical and Allied Engineering Co. Ltd (KEL) had attracted public ire for their delay in completing renovation works at the park during summer vacation, although it had been opened to visitors from November 14 (Children’s Day), 2021. Kerala Tourism had allotted ₹4 crore for its renovation much earlier.
