CHENNAI: The Langs garden park, constructed in 2010 as part of the Cooum river restoration project, has now been taken down, ironically, for the same Cooum river restoration project.
According to Corporation of Chennai officials, the stretch would be replaced with greenery. While nine new parks and cycle tracks have been planned as part of the Cooum eco-restoration project, it is learnt that reconstruction of the Langs garden park, is not a part of the project’s proposal. The Langs garden park was constructed after evicting and relocating close to 500 families who had lived on the banks of the river.
The park, along with two others on Dams road and Swami Sivananda Salai, was constructed by the DMK government and was inaugurated by then deputy Chief Minister MK Stalin. When Express visited the spot, only the name board remained of the park and space had been used for the formation of bunds, as part of the Cooum river restoration project.
“The benches as well as other overgrown foliage, had to be cleared for the bunds to be formed,” a Public Works Department official told Express.
However, residents said the park was hardly in use for around five or six years after it was constructed and is mostly a waste of public money. It was used as a dumpyard for waste with no lights or parking space before it was taken down.
M Subramanian, who was the mayor when the park was constructed, said, “What is going to be built as part of the project and where it is going to come up is not clear. First, they should see to it that the sewage inflows are plugged.”
A senior Corporation official said, “The Cooum restoration project that was taken up earlier, was done in bits and pieces. This is a holistic project and so we have an overall plan that we stick to.” He said the park was handed over for Metrowater work a year ago.