A statue of Raja Rammohun Roy was unveiled on June 15 at the edge of Salt Lake, in AA Block. The lifesize statue has been installed in a newly developed patch of greenery.
“This space used to be dirty, but local councillor Ratna Bhaumik has worked to help renovate it, that too in the name of a social icon,” said minister and MLA Sujit Bose, who inaugurated the park and statue on Sunday evening. “Everyone must know about and remember Raja Rammohun Roy’s contribution in abolishing the practice of sati and child marriage,” he said.
So far, AA Block had two parks facing each other — one for children, with slides, swings, and playthings, and another exclusively for playing cricket. “While the elderly were always welcome at the other parks, we wanted a corner exclusively for them,” said block secretary Partha Chakraborty, pointing at all the benches laid out in the new park.
The space has a manicured lawn, a pathway, trees and flowering plants along the edges, plenty of benches, and is enclosed by blue-and-white painted fencing. It is divided into two parts — one L-shaped section and another small square patch with an unfenced walkway in between. Together, the greenery covers about 3,200sq ft area.
“We left the walkway in the middle open so that residents and outsiders can pass through it when going to or coming from the Ultadanga side. There is a market nearby too which many frequent,” Chakraborty added.
The park will remain locked most of the time and will be open during morning and evening walk hours.
“We chose Rammohun Roy as he is a great son of Bengal, whom children need to know about. He does not have as many statues as Swami Vivekananda or Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose,” Chakraborty added. The park had an electric box inside, which has been painted with a portrait of Iswarchandra Vidyasagar. “The park has been sponsored by Ganesh Complex, which councillor Ratna Bhaumik and Sujitda facilitated.”
Ganesh Complex is a subsidiary of the Bajoria Group. “We develop industrial parks where companies can set up operations with ease. We handle land acquisition, permissions, infrastructure, and all other requirements. We have several parks in places like Bombay Road and Delhi Road and are expanding into Salt Lake now,” said chairman Ashok Kumar Bajoria, who had come for the opening. The group’s operating office is in FE Block.
“Our approach aligns with the progressive ideals of Raja Rammohun Roy, who championed reform and modernisation in 19th-century India. Just as Roy worked to modernise society, we work to modernise industry,” he added. The group will also be maintaining the space.
Residents are delighted with the park. “This stretch used to be littered and we’d have regular quarrels with the Corporation sweeper about cleaning it. Slum dwellers living on the other side would hang their clothes here to dry too. It was an eyesore. But now it’s so pretty — I feel like sitting here with my friends,” said septuagenarian Jharna Bhattacharya.
