Ten theme parks coming up in Howrah under government initiative

KOLKATA: Two theme parks at Howrah, named after Kaji Nazrul Islam and Bal Gangadhar Tilak, were inaugurated in the past two days by Howrah mayor Rathin Chakraborty.

While one of the parks is named after Kazi Nazrul Islam, the other has been named Bal Gangadhar Tilak park. Investments worth Rs 50 lakhs went into putting together the Kazi Nazrul Islam park, while the other one was built with investments to the tune of Rs 1.90 crore respectively.

The Nazrul Park is spread across a nine-cottah plot located, close to 50 metres away from the new secretariat near the Vidyasahgar Setu toll plaza. Both the parks have been built by Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) with support from the state government. Both the parks have bronze statues of stalwarts they have been named after.

The Nazrul Park has been decorated with springs, the walls are painted with messages that spread communal harmony. It also has murals portraying Hindus and Muslims participating in each other’s festivals. The other park is located next to Avani Mal on Foreshore Road. The park has a 4.5 bigha waterbody with boating facilities. The authority has plans to host light and sound shows here.

There are more similar projects in the pipeline. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has decided that 10 such theme parks will dot the area under the Nabanna Development Zone project to make the place look visually appealing to visitors from India and abroad.

Architect Ramratan Chowdhury is designing all the 10 parks. The next two parks will be named Biswa Bangla Park and Sister Nivedita Park.