(From top) The site of the proposed Khan Nagar mini-park in Cuttack, visitors look at a fountain at Nehru Park in Berhampur and children enjoy a ride at Gandhi Park in Berhampur. Pictures by Badrika Nath Das and Gopal Krishna Reddy

Cuttack, Feb. 22: The Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) has decided to develop a mini-park on a land near Khan Nagar. The proposed mini-park could be an ideal place for the city’s people to enjoy the Kathajodi river view.

The place, where the park is supposed to come up, was earlier used to dump solid waste and carcasses of dead animals.

People coming to the nearby Biswanath Pandit Park were not happy with the practice of dumping garbage and carcasses on the two-acre land as it caused environmental pollution there.

“It was very difficult to pass through the area because of the foul smell emanating from the dumping ground. Though there were restrictions on dumping dead animals on the riverside ground, the rules used to be violated rampantly,” said Prafulla Sahu, a local resident.

Sahu also said the corporation’s decision to develop the area into a park would beautify the place that was lying vacant for long.

An official of the corporation said the work to develop and level the land had begun last year. “The park project has been estimated to cost Rs 6 lakh. We plan to come up with a lot of rides and create scopes for indulging in various kinds of activities inside the park. The work is expected to be completed in a couple of months,” said a senior official of the corporation.

Some stones have already been installed at different locations inside the park’s land where people can sit and enjoy the sunset and river view. A total of 20 platforms have been created on the land.

The place could be a good alternative to another overcrowded park at Khan Nagar, said Umesh Rath, a resident of Badambadi.

Rath said the corporation’s initiative to develop footpaths and creating platforms where people could sit and enjoy the river view along Ring Road was a welcoming move.

Sources in the corporation said there were plans to organise open-air cultural programmes in the proposed mini-park.

There is also a proposal to install LCD television inside the proposed park so that visitors can watch cricket matches. The project will be carried on a public-private-partnership mode.

The municipal corporation has also decided to develop another land and create facilities for parking about 1,000 vehicles coming to the park there.