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All set for a face-lift
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A renovation project to give a new look to Bharathi Park has been launched
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Bharathi Park as it is today.
A DASH of dark green stands out against the white government buildings. As the morning sunlight plays hide and seek, the area takes on a golden hue. The chirping of birds and cawing of crows can be heard as morning walkers pass through the park to reach the beach.
But the birds, squirrels and other insects run for cover as soon as humans start taking over the park. As the day progresses, the Bharathi Park in Pondicherry becomes a haven for hawkers, fortune-tellers, children, tourists, relatives of patients in the general hospital and numerous protestors.
The park is not just a place for recreation but also relaxation. People come here either to walk or just sit and watch Nature. You can see children playing in the small pond and in the play area; artists doodling in their sketchbooks, tourists leaning on benches and tree roots reading travel books and parents feeding children during lunchtime.
Talking of lunchtime, there are people who come here to sell food in packets. And you find a lot of empty packets thrown around. One can also see dogs and pigs inside the park. There is a huge demon-like statue and rusting play equipment in the children's area. Well, all that is going to change thanks to the efforts of the Tourism Department, the Pondicherry Municipality, the PWD and INTACH (Indian National Trust for Culture and Heritage). Work on the park renovation project began recently. The changes envisaged under the plan are really big. According to Ajit Koujalgi, co-convenor, INTACH, the project has been planned on the basis of a scheme that the Department of Town and Country Planning came up with some years ago, and the experience gained by the Asia Urbs team during its visit to Italy and Paris last year. The fund (Rs. 2.5 crore) for the project has been provided by the Union Ministry of Tourism.
"Presently, the park is divided into four sections with the Ayi Mandapam in the centre, which is being used as a traffic island and vehicles pass through all the four roads. But we plan to combine the four quadrants into one large space and the roads will be converted into walkways and vehicles will have to go around it. We will also put up see-through fencing and increase the parking space around the park," says Koujalgi.
Lights will be put up all over the park , trees will be trimmed and the Ayi Mandapam will be lit up artistically. Change has been a constant factor in the case of the Bharathi park. "In 1706, it was built as a stellate-shaped fort. Christened Fort St Louis, it had a moat around it, which was fed by the Petit Canal, which in turn was fed by the Uppar River. This fort, however, was pulled down in 1778 by the British. Even before Fort St Louis was constructed, Pondicherry had seen several forts, but they were all destroyed and rebuilt time and again. In 1787, the French finally decided not to construct any more forts and it was used as a parade ground for a few years and then it finally became a park," explains architect Shadish of INTACH.
Pic by T. Singaravelou
A futuristic representation of the landmark.
Not just the park, but the area around it also evolved slowly. "Normally, European squares have all the important buildings around them, so does the Bharathi Park. The Government General Hospital came up in 1853, the Assembly in 1962 (earlier it housed a tribunal and a medical college) and other buildings such as the Raj Nivas, UCO Bank and Chamber de Commerce surround the park. As for the Ayi Mandapam , only after the French faced a water crisis, they went in search of water and then the monument came into being.
Though in the first phase, the money provided by the Centre is meant for the park alone, INTACH has conceptualised a second phase to redo the Gandhi Thidal area. "As the Park is linked with the Gandhi Thidal, we are trying to make it into a quiet place and convert the space between the park and Gandhi Thidal into a pedestrian area.This space can be used for special occasions and some of the space can be set aside for creating something on the lines of the `Dilli Haat'in New Delhi, which is a permanent set of shops, where craftsmen sell their wares. This area could also be used as a food court, thus moving all the shops along the park to this area," feels Koujalgi.
The president of the Senior Citizen's Association S V Iyer feels that the beach road and park area must have speed regulations for vehicles. "As a lot of children and elderly come here it can be dangerous."
Devanathan and his wife Vasantha, who are regular morning walkers, feel that more benches should be provided along the beach as well as in the park. "The Government must do something about the dog menace in both the areas, because they follow us when we walk and it is unnerving," says Devanathan. According to Vasantha, the new project should provide space for doing yoga. There should also be clean toilets and drinking water facility. The authorities should stress on cleanliness. Otherwise any amount of renovation will not help if garbage continues to be thrown around.
DEEPA H. RAMAKRISHNAN
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