Several parks in Kolkata did not open their gates in the evening despite the civic body’s announcement on Tuesday that parks run by it would remain open from 4pm to 6pm starting September 1. The Telegraph visited three parks — Allen Park on Park Street, Maharana Pratap Udyan opposite Shakespeare Sarani police station and Deshapriya Park on Rashbehari Avenue — between 4pm and 5pm on Wednesday.
All three were shut.
A Kolkata Municipal Corporation official said all agencies responsible for the security of the parks had been informed on Tuesday about the evening schedule. “It seems some of the parks were not ready to host visitors in the evening. But they will definitely open from Thursday,” said the official.
At Deshapriya Park, all the gates were shut. There were some security personnel seated near one of the gates at the northern end of the park. “We have not received any instruction to open the park in the evening or afternoon. Some people came and enquired whether the park would open today evening. But we cannot open the gates till we receive any order,” said a security guard.
At Allen Park, too, the gates were closed. There was no guard in sight. It was the same picture at Maharana Pratap Udyan.
A homemaker who stays in south Kolkata said she was looking forward to the reopening of parks in the evening. “It’s easier for people like me to take a stroll in the evening. There is too much work at home in the morning. I hope all parks open in the evening from Thursday,” she said.
The KMC had announced on Tuesday that the 700 parks in the city, maintained by it, would open their gates to visitors for two hours from 4pm from Wednesday. Some of the popular parks maintained by the KMC are Talla Park, Deshabandhu Park, College Square and Deshapriya Park.
Till Tuesday, the parks used to open only between 6am and 9am. No one was allowed entry for the rest of the day.
