Parks are becoming increasingly popular among urban folk as they wish to unwind amidst greenery and get peaceful entertainment in this city shorn of other means for spending time meaningfully
K Sarath Chandra
Vijayawada: Parks are important components of urban topography. A city without a park is a system without a heartbeat. A public park should cater to the comforts of all age groups. Urban parks are indeed paradises on earth, as they benevolently provide pleasure. Come evening, and the parks begin to throb with life. They keep one away from the boredom of mechanical urban life.
Realising the need for providing lung space to denizens, the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) has decided to give a facelift to all major parks in the city. This is to help people access walking tracks in the morning and evening as part of the corporation’s plan to make Vijayawada a green city.
When contacted, Assistant Director (Horticulture), VMC, GP Anand said, “Having many green areas, with water bodies nearby, apart from many streams and canals, Vijayawada city has a lot of scope for giving these lung spaces a facelift. The civic body is also making efforts to usher in the phased development of the areas on city outskirts so that concentrated presence of the city population in a few localities would be resolved.”
Some of the major parks in the city are Rajiv Gandhi Park near Pandit Nehru Bus Station, Dr. BR Ambedkar Park and Raghavaiah Park on MG Road, Dr KL Rao Park in KL Rao Nagar, Gora Park in Gandhi Nagar etc., While mini giant wheel and skating rinks are major attractions to kids at Rajiv Gandhi Park, the boating canal is the crowd-puller at KL Rao Park. While Rajiv Gandhi Park, KL Rao Park and TV Raghavaiah Park charge a nominal entry fee, the others have an unrestricted entry.
In addition, about 85 parks and greeneries are maintained by respective park committees of various colonies. Gandhi Park, Sastry Park, Bhavanipuram Park and Revenue Colony Park are other ones maintained by the VMC.
The grass lawns in these parks make for a clean-green carpet. The parks, in fact, are a walkers’ delight in the real sense of the term. Every day, middle-aged people and the old people flock together at the parks between 6 am and 8 am and from 5 pm to 7 pm. Most of them are regular visitors. For them, spending time well means something more than eating rich foods and spending free time in front of the television sets. It is during the weekends that the parks teem with children. After thrilling moments in one section of the park replete with play equipment, they begin to run hither and thither on the lawns gleefully.
Parks have always been a great source of inspiration for writers, artists, gardeners, teachers, poets, naturalists etc., Parks provide an ambient space for jogging, meditation, discourses, nature tours, family parties, physical exercise, play stations and are terrific stress-busters.
Surya, a retired school teacher, who is a regular visitor to KL Rao Park, says, “When you think of parks, the first images that come to mind are determined joggers, kids running around trees and the occasional couple. The green havens are the haunt for poetry and music lovers and are the destination for a range of activities from doggie meet-ups, community hangouts and even a vegan picnic.”
Sindhu Raghavi, a housewife opines that denizens residing in colonies need more lung space with walking tracks and other paraphernalia to keep the children busy.
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