A bit of music to pep up Kuttichira’s historic air

New rhythm: The Kuttichira Pond where a musical fountain will come up. Photo: S. Ramesh Kurup

The tranquil feel of the past that cloaks the centuries-old Kuttichira pond will now be laced with soft music emanating from a fountain.

Work on the musical fountain, a city’s heritage tourism promotion initiative by the Calicut Development Authority (CDA), will start soon.

An engineering team from CDA will visit the location within a couple of weeks to study the scope of the project and prepare a detailed estimate to submit to the State government.

The CDA project is following a direction from the Ministry of Urban Affairs. A recent Ministry-level discussion has said the project will certainly be an advantage to the heritage tourism destination that lies adjacent to the famed Mishkal mosque, Kuttichira Juma Masjid, and the Muchunthi Masjid.

The project will be completed either in Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode or with the support of interested private sponsors. The design of the fountain will be picked up after examining successful models in neighbouring States.

Before the commencement of fountain works, the CDA will look into the beautification of the pond premises and the roads leading to the spot.

Stairs leading to the pond, too, will be reconstructed in an attractive way, besides laying tiles in main areas. On completion of the works, seating arrangements for the sightseers will also be provided.

According to CDA Chairman N.C. Aboobacker, the authority is planning to earmark Rs.1 crore for the modernisation venture. “With the revival of the CDA, we have got sufficient number of engineers for the project works. They will visit the location very soon and prepare a master plan for the project,” he says.

Along with the musical fountain project, the CDA will also take up two more heritage tourism promotion projects in the city. Urban Reconstruction Project for Valiyangadi and the Urban Renewal Project for S.M. Street will be implemented with funds from the Urban Affair Ministry.

In the first project, the entire old buildings and godowns in the old bazaar will be reconstructed. Under the Urban Renewal Project planned for S.M. Street, priority will be given for the renovation of all the old buildings in the area. Narrow internal roads, too, will be widened as part of the renovation work.