Chief minister Raghubar Das announced a slew of projects for Ranchi on Monday, most of them centred around beautifying capital landmarks, but the most ambitious of them all his promise to develop Morabadi grounds on the lines of Times Square in London.
"Morabadi is a place with immense potential but there aren't any facilities at the moment," Das said, referring to the greens, most popular with Ranchi's morning walkers.
"I want to develop it on lines of Times Square so that it can be a place buzzing with activity 24x7, offering numerous recreation and entertainment options for residents," he added.
The chief minister did not elaborate on the plans, but he sure has set the bar high. London's Time Square, in the league of New York City's Times Square, never really goes to sleep. It is one of the most famous meeting places in London, replete with neon lights and entertainment action in the form of restaurants, cinemas and theatre houses.
Not to forget the London Underground, Piccadilly Circus is the tube station where one gets off to soak in Times Square and its flock of friendly pigeons.
On Monday morning, chief minister Das laid foundation stones for beautifying Birsa Munda Smriti Park within the old Birsa Jail premises, estimated to cost Rs 107 crore, Ranchi Lake (Rs 15 crore), and new buildings for Ranchi Municipal Corporation (Rs 48 crore), for Ramgarh Nagar Parishad and Khunti Nagar Panchayat (Rs 18 crore).
The programme was held on the old jail premises, which the chief minister promised to develop as a tourist hub within two years.
"Birsa jail will be a place where history will meet art, entertainment and recreation. There will be a museum on the life and times of freedom fighters, an urban and tribal haat, a yoga centre, a 60m-high watchtower, basement parking and various other attractions," Das said.
Triveni Constructions has been assigned the job that comes with a deadline of two years. Beautification of Bada Talab, an RMC official maintained, would involve landscaping, lighting and creating a 1,702m long pathway around the area. "A soft inauguration of the project was in fact done in 2013, but today's (Monday) programme will formally mark the beginning the project which is to be completed in two years time," deputy mayor Sanjeev Vijayvargiya said.
Among those who took part in Monday's function were MPs Ram Tahal Choudhary and Mahesh Poddar, state urban development minister C.P.Singh, MLA's Jitu Charan Ram, Ram Kumar Pahan and Naveen Jaiswal.
