Marred by intermittent rains in the district, work to revamp the children’s park in Otteri has been resumed by the Vellore Municipal Corporation.
Despite the halts, the work, that started a couple of months ago, is being carried out by the contractors who have been asked to stick to the schedule and complete it before March 2020.
Owing to increasing patronage, the park has been in limelight from 2016. But infrastructure such as the children’s play equipment has been in the need for repairs for a long time.
The Corporation officials said the park received a facelift after there was overgrowth of bushes and shrubs, and a few equipment required repair and replacement.
The construction of an eight feet-wide walkers’ path of 800 metres is completed, and workers are now undertaking the fitting of hand-rails on by path.
The construction of the fountain is over. A skating rink and a basketball court will be ready once the rain relents. The play equipment repairs would be taken up next, according to officials.
Initially, the park was readied at a cost of ₹11 lakh in 2016. The total cost of lake rejuvenation and park spruce up work was estimated at ₹9 crore, an official CMCV said.
“With a growing demand, we wanted to add colour to the park by building more infrastructure such as new walkers’ path, renovation of the fountain, water facilities for washrooms, provision of greenery inside the park, and repairs and maintenance for play equipment,” the official said.
“We took up works to clear the bushes in the park. There was overgrowth of bushes in various parts of the park, including on the playground and footpath. We also took up works to rectify and replace some of the damaged play equipment,” the official added.
Residents said the park was receiving a good footfall during weekends. For a city that has limited getaways, this spruced-up facility could become a breathing space.
The Residents added that the inflow of crowd to the park increased after the water level in Otteri Tank swelled following the 2016 rains. Hopefully, this year too, we get enough rain and more water stored in the lake nearby that adds to the lustre of the park, they said.
The park was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in 2014.
