“KMC parks will now be open from 4pm to 6pm in addition to 6am to 9am,” KMC board of administrators member overseeing the civic body’s parks department Debasish Kumar said on Tuesday. A civic official said special vigil would be maintained over large parks such as Mohor Kunja (Citizens’ Park), Elliot Park, Deshabandhu Park, Deshapriya Park and Park Circus Maidan to ensure that Covid norms were maintained.
The news was greeted by citizens who have been demanding that parks be opened in the evening as well. But several of them felt it would have made sense to extend the timing further, both in the morning and evening.
“I am glad the KMC has finally recognized that people need to walk and exercise to stay fit. And nowhere is it more safe than the open space that parks provide. But the timing is inadequate. Instead, parks should be open till at least 10 in the morning and 8 in the evening,” said lawyer Ankit Agarwal who lives in Rawdon Street.
A KMC parks department senior official, however, said it was not possible to extend timings immediately. “Let us reopen the gates of major parks first. We have dearth of security guards now. We will review the situation and depending on the feedback from citizens and our department officials, we may need to extend the timing,” he said.
Citizens, though, argued that if closed spaces like malls and restaurants could stay open till 10.30pm, timings can be extended for parks, too.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/now-all-parks-in-city-to-stay-open-in-evenings-too/articleshow/85814281.cms
