THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state capital will soon get a new green lung in the heart of the city. The Thiruvananthapuram Development Authority (Trida) plans to develop a first-of-its-kind ‘oxygen park’ at Palayam with an aim to address the growing pollution and provide a green space for senior citizens, morning walkers, and children.
The park, which will be set up on 112 cents of land near Palayam Connemara Market opposite Martyrs Column, is expected to provide much-needed breathing space for the public. The plan is to utilise the parking lot in front of the market and the strip of land towards the Bakery junction flyover for setting up the park.
Around Rs 1.5 crore has been earmarked in the budget for the project, which will take off this year. “We plan to plant trees and maintain the park as a green space. We don’t want tall trees, and the plants that will be used for setting up the green space will be chosen very carefully. There will be pathways for people coming for morning walks, and people from every age group will be able to utilise the park. The city is fast developing, and such spaces will be of great use in the future,” said an official with Trida.
The park will have an amphitheatre that can hold around 100 people. There will be a children’s park and refreshment counter to facilitate the visitors.
“The Martyrs Square is a place where people gather for protest meetings and other programmes. All these meetings are happening in the middle of traffic. Once the park is developed, they can be held in the amphitheatre,” the official said.
Trida has already come up with a design, and in order to finalise the project, the authorities are planning to invite plans from empanelled urban planners. “We have a rough plan, and we are planning to invite more ideas and designs from the urban planners. We have conceptualised the project, and want to improvise it,” said the official. The plan is to publish the shortlisted designs from these urban designers for public voting.
“We will invite suggestions and feedback from the public before finalising the project. At least five proposals will be published for public evaluation,” the official added.