Green sculptures to rope in tourists at Eco Park

The sculpture, contrary to its name, will not be green in colour, but will be aimed at conveying the message of living in harmony with nature and the environment. 

West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO) – the nodal agency for development in New Town – has decided to decorate Eco Park, which has become the city’s hottest tourist destination, by installing green statues. An area of about 875 square feet, on the grass bed of the park, has been demarcated for the installation.

“The Eco Park is a place where people get a feel of nature. Those statues will encourage the people to love trees. The artist has explained the concept of green sculptures, which is absolutely going well with our green city programme,” said HIDCO Chairman Debasis Sen.

The artist Aditi Chakraborty, a theme maker, who has created some remarkable models in Durga Puja pandals over the years, is ready to prove her talent. “It is a composite work which will give a message of green movement. My work is not to install statues, but to create an artistic environment there,” said Aditi.

Aditi, a Behala resident, and her team, will give shape to the statues soon, which would be made of eco-friendly materials. “It will be a completely different concept of art that we are going to create in Eco Park,” she said.

However, there is no dearth of statues in New Town. Eco Park itself is home to different statues made of fiber and iron. The Mask Garden here is one of the most popular places to visit. The New Town street, alongside the Biswa Bangla Sarani, has been decked with several sculptures – a huge white owl, Mahatma Gandhi’s famous Dandi march – which are a major attraction to onlookers.

 “We really love the concept of decoration here. It really depicts the rich sense of artistic quality and Bengal’s culture. The light works are aptly done with the decoration of statues,” said an Eco Park visitor. The green sculptures could very well be seen outside the Eco Park too in the future, if the idea is warmly received by visitors, HIDCO authorities hinted.