The Corporation has found an innovative way to showcase the importance of recycling waste in the city - using them to make pieces of art in a public park.
Artisans from The Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Development Corporation Limited, better known as Poompuhar, were requested to come with such pieces using waste at the Karthikeyan Garden Park in Thiruvanaikoil.
N. Ravichandran, Corporation Commissioner, told The Hindu that the initiative, apart from igniting minds to conceive the endless possibilities in recycling waste, would catch the imagination of people, especially children.
“The park, constructed in Karthikeyan Garden, was established at a cost of ₹81 lakh, with the artistic installations costing ₹1 lakh,” he said.
Scrap material and plastic waste collected from various microcomposting centres in the city were sent to the Poompuhar production in Thanjavur where artisans took over a month to make the installation and later sent it back, says Junior Engineer, R. Balamurugan.
Using discarded plastic containers and scrap metal, the artisans have made a colourful fish, which has already been placed at the centre of the park. Smaller pieces of birds and other animals will also be installed at the park soon, officials say.
The park has been set up in an area of 17,237 square feet and houses an open gym, a play area for children and a shed area for interactive play and events.
“An area of 6243 sq. ft. has been landscaped and 1765.28 sq. ft of space is taken up by plants and trees. For the safety of the users, a total of eight CCTV cameras have been fitted in various location of the park. There is also a designated security room for a guard who will be present round the clock. There is a drinking water can with a storage tank,” said Mr. Ravichandran.
The park also has three designated toilets and three rainwater harvesting units. The entire park is enclosed with a compound wall.
