Seven-year-old D. Aranishree, with her sister D. Vaishnavi, came rushing to get a glimpse of the colourful fountain at the Thiru Vi Ka Park, which was reopened to the public after restoration by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Tuesday.
“I’m absolutely thrilled. I live close by and will ask my parents to take me every other day,” says Aranishree.More than a decade after being shut, residents of Shenoy Nagar finally got the park in their neighbourhood. It now has several facilities including a basketball court, a skating rink, an open air theatre, an outdoor gym, musical water fountain, a cricket practice area, a play area for children, meditation zone, reading zone and yoga pavilion. The restoration was done at a cost of ₹18 crore.
The Shenoy Nagar Park, which was reopened to public on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: B. JOTHI RAMALINGAM
D. Guru, a resident of Shenoy Nagar, said: “This park is very close to my heart as I have played here as a child. We missed the park for many years and I’m glad that they have finally reopened it. In times when children heavily rely on video games and TV for distraction, it helps to have such parks and good facilities in the neighbourhood.”
The park, which spanned over 8.8 acres and had 328 trees, was shut after the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) took up the space for constructing an underground station at Shenoy Nagar for the ₹14,600-crore phase I project.
Since over 200 trees were cut to make way for this station, many residents were unhappy. Nearly 50 trees alone were translocated. However, nearly 2,400 tree saplings were planted sometime back. They have now grown to some extent, said a press release.
Though the entire phase I project was finished a few years ago, only now the park has been opened to the public after repeated delays. CMRL officials said they would maintain the park for the next few months.
“We will certainly plant more saplings in the park this week,” an official said. Shenoy Nagar currently has about 2,000-2,500 passengers using this station daily. Officials hope that the opening of this park may persuade commuters to use the Chennai Metro Rail system.
Published - April 05, 2023 12:43 am IST
