Visitors amble along a paved walkway in the afternoon in Eco Tourism Park. For a monthly fee, they can walk in the mornings now. (Mayukh Sengupta)

The health-conscious can now head to the beautiful Eco Tourism Park for their morning walk by buying monthly passes.

With its paved walkways, picturesque lake and green surroundings, the park always seemed like the perfect setting for jogs and walks. But it is only after a year-and-half of its opening that the park finally has its gates thrown open in the morning.

“The main problem with opening the park for morning-walkers was arranging for staff that early in the day. At the same time, requests would pour in to start such a service,” says Debasish Sen, chairman cum managing director of Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco) and chairman of New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA). Hidco is in charge of Eco Tourism Park.

The staff at the park works in eight-hour shifts and the park closes at 8.30pm. “There is no way the ticketing personnel could have gone home after that and reported for duty by 5.30am the next morning.”

The solution was to retain skeletal staff for the morning hours. And this they have done by eliminating the daily ticketing system. “We are only issuing monthly and yearly passes,” says Sen. After a one-time registration fee of Rs 200, senior citizens have to pay Rs 375 per month. Those under the age of 60 have to pay Rs 750 a month. But there is a 50 per cent discount for the first 100 entrants under the age of 60.

Annual passes offer a month’s entry free and cost 11 times the monthly fee, depending on which age group a person falls in.

The walkers will be allowed entry only through Gate 2, which is opposite the Finance Centre building. “This gate leads straight to the lake and is likely to be the most popular stretch for walking. That way our security guards on the morning shift can concentrate on this particular area without having to spread across the entire 480-acre park,” explains Sen.

Since there are no residential complexes within a 2-km radius of the park it can be assumed that all walkers will be coming by car. “We will not charge the Rs 50 parking fee from these cars and they will not be led to the parking lots near Gate 1 and 3 either. They will be allowed to park on the service road outside Gate 2,” he says.

Timings for the facility are 5.30am to 8am from April to October and 6am to 8am from November to March. And while the park is closed on Mondays it will be open for morning walks every day of the week.

Those interested to get passes may visit the Eco Tourism Park office Tuesday to Sunday between 2.30pm and 6pm. They need to bring two recent stamp-sized photographs (one for the office record and one to be stuck on the pass), an address proof and an age proof (to avail the senior citizen discount).

But a visitor who wakes up early one morning and feels like taking a stroll in the park will be disappointed. “There will be no tickets issued for a one-day visit. For that, visitors can come during regular park hours. The morning walk facility is only for regular walkers who come for health purposes,” says Sen. “The way you cannot visit a gym just for one day you cannot come here without the intention of doing so regularly.”