Changampuzha Park, which is a location of art, cultural and social gatherings, is set to get a makeover with the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) renovating the decades-old location with financial assistance from Cochin Smart Mission Limited (CSML).
The renovation work is estimated to cost ₹4 crore and is intended to be carried out in six months.
The work will get under way on August 26 at 5 p.m. K. Balachandran, former chairman of the GCDA who helmed the park’s activities for many years, will inaugurate the work.
Owned by the GCDA, the park maintenance and activities are coordinated by Changampuzha Samskarika Kendram, which has nurtured collectives for literature, art, music, Kathakali, and the like. The renovation work, a press release said, was meant to modernise the space and to attract more Kochiites to its vistas.
The park was inaugurated in 1977 on a two-acre reclaimed land by then Chief Minister C. Achutha Menon as a tribute to the memories of poet Changampuzha Krishna Pillai. Twenty years later, Changampuzha Samskarika Kendram was entrusted with its upkeep and operations. An international arts festival, a three-week painting and sculpture camp, was conducted here in 2001, and several works made then still adorn the park’s landscape.
The park features a recreation room, open air theatre, several sculptures, and a decommissioned naval Sea Hawk fighter aircraft.
A blueprint for the renovation work was prepared by the Indian Institute of Architects, Kochi Centre, and public consultation was done ahead of that, said the press release. Elevation of the park ground at level with the road, renovation of the auditorium to allow larger audiences, setting up an art gallery, an amphitheatre, improving the drainage system, renovation of walkway, construction of more restrooms, and setting up an aesthetically appealing compound wall are the works being carried out as part of the renovation.
Landscaping will be done, and play equipment for children will be renovated as well. GCDA expects around ₹12 crore expenditure for the annual maintenance of the park. The renovation has been planned in such a manner that it will not affect the daily functioning of the park, the agency said.
