Birsa Munda Park at Baramuri in Dhanbad on Monday. Picture by Gautam Dey

The managing committee of the lone amusement park in Dhanbad district has made entry passes mandatory for morning walkers.

The move is aimed at regulating the number of visitors to Birsa Munda Park during happy hours — between 5am and 7am — and curb misuse of its property by rogue elements.

Around 3,000 people from the coal town and its surrounding areas like Bhuiphore and Saraidhela visit the square — situated at Baramuri, 3km from district headquarters — daily during the morning hours.

The park authorities started issuing passes from Saturday. “Two kinds of passes are available, monthly for Rs 50 and yearly for Rs 500,” park manager Suraj Narayan Singh said.

The manager believes the introduction of the pass system would ensure the park wasn’t unnecessarily crowded.

“We had observed that some people came to the park for reasons other than walking. Sitting idle and indulging in eve-teasing was an everyday sight. Some of the youths would also use the swings meant for children, thereby causing damage,” Singh said.

Hence, on the managing committee’s request, Dhanbad DC Prashant Kumar gave the go-ahead to charge a premium from morning walkers, Singh added.

Over 70 people have already bought their morning walk passes.

Spread over 24 acres, the park boasts of a toy train, dragon ride, caterpillar ride, see-saws, spiral rides and tree swings, besides three canteens.

The square attracts a huge number of children along with their families during visiting hours from 9am to 7pm. Over 800 people visit the park daily during winter vacation and year-end.

An entry fee of Rs 15 is charged from each adult from Monday to Friday and Rs 20 on weekends. For children, tickets are priced at Rs 5 on weekdays and Rs 10 on Saturdays and Sundays.