Paradip: Jagatsinghpur district police have volunteered labour to convert a barren and unused plot into a scenic children's park in the district headquarters township.

The park, spread across an acre at Punang, was thrown open for children last week. The barren patch now wears a refreshing green look with playful children adding zest and life to the park. The land was lying vacant and unused at the Police Colony. The idea to convert it into children's park was finalised after everybody in the department gladly consented to the proposal.

It took a month of voluntary labour by the policemen - right from gram rakshis to officers of inspector rank - for the project to come up, said Jagatsinghpur police superintendent Jai Narayan Pankaj.

"We also spent from the district police welfare fund to beautify the park with flower plantation, landscaping, and installation of statues, sliders and swings," he said.

Children from the Police Colony and nearby villages have begun thronging the park. "It's a very nice initiative by the district police. Our village had no playground. Children have got a nice place to spend their leisure time. The park is abuzz with activity as children accompanied by their parents crowd the park," said Gouranga Mallick of Punang.