Part of Freedom Park to be thrown open to public on January 26

Part of Freedom Park to be thrown open to public on January 26

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: Work on the first phase of Freedom Park coming up on the premises of the Old Central Prison will be completed by early next year and some facilities at the park would be thrown open for public use on January 26, officials of Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) told Gandhinagar MLA Dinesh Gundu Rao during inspection here on Monday.

Though work on the first phase was to be completed by June this year, it had been delayed because of various reasons. Tenders for this project had been called for in 2004 and work orders were issued in 2006, the officials said.

Mr. Gundu Rao, who wanted the officials to complete work at the earliest, said that the original project cost of Rs. 8.74 crore had escalated to Rs. 10 crore following delay in implementation.

The first phase includes an amphitheatre with a seating capacity of 200 persons, an information corridor, a sculpture court and a pavilion block.

The hospital block, central tower and barracks and the jail entrance block that are being retained as heritage structures have been refurbished.

BBMP Deputy Commissioner (Development) K.R. Sreenivas and Engineer-in-Chief A. K. Gopalswamy accompanied the MLA.