The Corporation-owned park was handed over to KMRL for redevelopment in tandem with the construction of the metro’s Vyttila-Pettah extension
The Corporation-owned park was handed over to KMRL for redevelopment in tandem with the construction of the metro’s Vyttila-Pettah extension
The Kunnara Park on Vyttila-Pettah Road has not been opened to the public, around a year after Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) completed its redevelopment.
The inordinate delay resulted in a dozen members of the Opposition in the Kochi Corporation Council, led by Opposition Leader Antony Kureethara recently doing a people’s inauguration of the renovated park. This was followed by Trikkakara MLA Uma Thomas leading a dharna, lamenting the metro agency’s delay in opening the park.
Metro sources said they were awaiting a consensus with the Corporation on maintaining the park.
| Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT
The Corporation-owned park was handed over to KMRL for redevelopment in tandem with the construction of the metro’s Vyttila-Pettah extension. The park remains out of bound for visitors even after the commissioning of the extension and the metro’s subsequent extension to SN Junction. In a curious turn of events, it was let out for a film shooting earlier this month.
May Mathew, who retired as Senior Town Planner from the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) and an avid votary of the need for more green and open spaces in Kochi, said the park ought to be handed back to the Corporation. “On its part, the civic agency must augment its capacity to maintain more parks and open spaces. Corporate social responsibility [CSR] funds could be availed, if needed, for their upkeep,” she said.
“KMRL is reluctant to return the park to the Corporation, although we made it clear that we had the wherewithal to maintain the park by entering into an annual maintenance contract with a competent agency,” said Sunitha Dixon, the chairperson of the civic body’s Works Standing Committee and the councillor who represents Vyttila division. “The metro agency is still not willing to throw open the park to children. Most of them cannot afford to visit amusement parks,” she added.
Mayor M. Anilkumar said Kunnara Park ought to be opened to the public even without a formal inauguration. “The civic agency is against the concept of having too many kiosks and advertisements in such open spaces,” he said.
Metro sources said they were awaiting a consensus with the Corporation on maintaining the park, since KMRL invested heavily in its redevelopment as part of its non-motorised transport (NMT) initiatives. The space can even be used to host small birthday parties, they said.
