Aquadeep with its serpentine slides. Pictures by Gopal Senapati

There is reason to be at Belillious Park again. With the old rides having lost their charm, a new water theme park, Aquadeep, is now pulling the crowds. Inaugurated on July 16 within the park premises, in a separate enclosure, the water theme park is where all youngsters are headed these days. In the sultry and humid afternoons, they splash around in the water, floating on their backs or just standing on one side of the pool, enjoying the cool water and watching others play.

Aquadeep has three pools, the large adult pool being four feet at the deep end and having a serpentine pipeline of amusement slides inclining into the water from a height of 35 feet. A person coming down from the top is bound to feel the thrill of rushing down the slides and splashing into the water. Many are trying to walk backwards, up the slides and are sliding down halfway. Others try to surf down from the top lying on their stomachs and go head first into the water. Of the five different slides at the pool, two of them are black holes, that are essentially thrill rides for adults. These black holes are closed tunnels that come spiralling down into the water. There are two other water tubes and two surfer slides.

Mayor Rathin Chakrabarti and minister Arup Roy inaugurate the park

The entry fee to the park is Rs 150 per head on weekdays and Rs 200 per head on weekends. Children above one year of age and under 4.6 feet in height will need a ticket of Rs 75. A height marker fixed at the ticket counter measures children. Individuals above 4.6 feet in height are considered adults. There are separate changing rooms for men and women, another changing room for children and also a costume counter for those who do not get their own swimming costumes to the pool. The costumes can be hired for Rs 20 to Rs 40. Floaters and inflatable rafts are also available in the pools.

The children’s pool is opposite to the adult pool. It is two feet deep and four slides, including a mini black hole reach the water from a height of 10 feet. “Apart from gravitational force, there is also a push of the water current that is flowing rapidly in the slides themselves. The thrill is in the ride down the slides,” said Anshu Sharma, the general manager of the park.

Another smaller pool below the slides has been kept for further development. “We plan to put baby boats in that pool for children,” said Sharma.

Boys have fun at the Aquadeep pool

The young in Howrah are over the moon with the water park. “I decided to visit the water park right after it was inaugurated. This is the first time that such a park has come up in Howrah town. The pools look good and I enjoyed myself here,” said Sunita Sharma, a resident of Howrah Maidan. Subhro Ghosh, a resident of Kadamtala, who visited Aquadeep on Sunday, said, “Its great to have something like this in Howrah. We have heard of Aquatica and Nicco Park but to have something similar near our house is unbelievable. I have been sliding down into the water all afternoon.”

“We will be maintaining the park well. The water is cleaned regularly through a filtration plant at the park and we also add chlorine to it,” said Sharma.