KAKINADA: Officials of the Kakinada Municipal Corporation have been unable to find contractors for the development and maintenance of parks in the city. The KMC has taken up projects for the development of parks such as Raja Tank, Gandhinagar, Sureshnagar and Annammaghati, and tenders have been floated. However, they have not received a good response from contractors because the tenders have a condition that maintenance work needs to be carried out for a period of five years. Consequently, officials have revised the terms and reduced the maintenance period to two years and have invited tenders for the development of Gandhinagar Park.
Gandhinagar Park is one of the historic parks of the city. Meetings of the All India Congress Committee were conducted there in 1921. In a meeting presided over by Maharshi Bulusu Sambamurthy, and attended by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru as the chief guest, a resolution was passed regarding the release of Mahatma Gandhi from jail. The park was named after Mahatma Gandhi after his death; and it is the first park in the country to have been named after him. Officials wish to develop Gandhinagar Park under the Kakinada Smart City concept.
KMC commissioner S. Aleem Basha said that an open air theatre, a food court, a walking track, attractive entrance gates, a play area for children and other recreation facilities would be created, and the park would be developed as a tourist spot. He said that tenders had been floated, and that the plans would be finalised soon. Suresh Nagar Park will also be developed, but it will utilise funds from the KMC, and it will not be under the Kakinada Smart City concept. The development plans include the levelling of land with soil brought from the Boat Club. KMS officials say that Suresh Nagar Park will be one of the most beautiful parks in the city. They say that they will take the opinions of people into account while preparing the plans for the park. Meanwhile, revised plans for Raja Tank Park are also being prepared.
