Leisure space with a history

Leisure space with a history

Work on the Freedom Park is on and will be completed soon

Work on the Freedom Park on Seshadri Road is likely to be completed soon. The heritage park at the site that once housed the centrail jail will provide the citizens with a fairly large urban plaza for rest and recreation, according to Krishna Udapudi, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). The idea is to make the park a place of varied interest for people from various walks of life, age and interest at different times of the day.
The park will have a landscaped amphitheatre for concerts and performances and can accommodate a large number of people. Out of the 22 acres available for development, six acres will be used to create a parking area, while the remaining 16 acres will have an open gallery, gardens, lawns, water bodies and an auditorium. There are also plans to use all resources such as solar energy, recycling rain water, and recharging the ground water. Some of the old structures will be retained to provide a historical feel to the whole ambience.
The theme of freedom will be captured in different creative forms in memory of freedom fighters who were once jailed within these premises. The idea is to make it a green space for recreation while at the same time retaining its historical significance. A cenotaph inscribed with the names of leaders imprisoned in the jail during the freedom struggle and later years will also be built. There will also be a large paved urban space for exhibitions and performances.
The park will also have a jail museum, restaurant, open air gallery, landscaped amphitheatre, information corridor, people's court, tower block, people's court and a place for art, books and a cafe too.
"This is a State Government project that has offered us a platform to create a non-commercial, socially relevant space that's so vital", says Soumitro Ghosh, of Mathew and Ghosh, who are the consultants to this project. The existing parks in the city only provide space for walkers and joggers. According to Ghosh, there's a need to reinvent our parks to make them event-based, where limited activities can be held, while at the same time retaining them as vital lung spaces. The idea is to make people go there a number of times. It could also serve as a large open space for children to enjoy. It should basically appeal to all and also attract visitors from outside, according to Ghosh.
– P B V