Thiruvananthapuram: Open-air auditorium soon

Thiruvananthapuram: The Putharikandam Maidan at East Fort, one of the biggest open spaces in the state capital would get a major facelift soon with the launch of Rs 8.11 crore worth open-air auditorium and children’s’ park project.

The project taken up under the Smart City initiative will be completed within 12 months.

The plan is to set up an open-air auditorium, two amphitheaters, children’s park, jogging track, cycle track, sculptures, rain shelters, art gallery and theme part, landscapes etc are the main components of the project. The Smart City Thiruvananthapuram Ltd has tendered the project. An official said that the technical bid of the project would be opened on December 24.

Mayor K Sreekumar told DC that the project would be completed in a war footing basis. “The project would change the face of the East Fort.  The Putharikandam Maidan is one place in the city where people gather. Lack of basic facilities is a major drawback. With the implementation of the project, this issue would be resolved,” said the Mayor.

The civic body is planning to set up a theme park on the historical relevance of Putharikandam Maidan. “The crop harvested from the Putharikandam Maid-an, which is considered as a symbol of the first yield of the harvest season, is taken to Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple every year. We are planning to put up sculptures on the process of harvesting in a corner of the Maidan. Multiple sculptures representing the process of harvesting would be put to educate the public,” said the official.

He said that the total project cost is likely to go up further. “We are planning to take up multiple components which would be implemented as separate projects. The civic work would take off within a few weeks,” said the official. The amphitheaters will have a capacity to accommodate 200 people each.

“We are planning to construct green rooms and toilet blocks to facilitate the public,” said the official.