CHENNAI: The Thiru Vi Ka Park at Shenoy Nagar, which was closed for metro rail construction in 2011, will be thrown open to the public this week, according to senior corporation officials. The park originally spread over 8.5 acres, will now have fewer trees as around 130 out of 300 trees were cut down for constructing a metro rail station.
The park was handed over back to the city corporation by CMRL earlier this week. Although the park now has modern facilities like a walking track, open play area for children, open gym and toilets, those who knew the original Shenoy Nagar park said that there was a vast difference between the two.
A senior corporation engineer said that the park was part of the layout created by the city corporation in Shenoy Nagar, predating the Anna Nagar layout. “In the early 2000s, when I used to walk here, it was like walking in a jungle with tall trees and the sound of birds. From what little I’ve seen of the park now from the outside, it looks like a concrete park with modern amenities and lacking its old charm. They do seem to have some trees and hopefully, more will be added,” said S Rajendran, a resident of the area. The park also has now been painted in colours in the children’s play area.
City corporation officials said that although the park still forms a part of the urban lung spaces in the city, the civic body will look to add more trees wherever possible. While a part of the park lies on a concrete slab, due to the underground metro station, where planting more trees is not possible, officials said that they were looking to add more trees on its periphery to compensate for the lost trees.