A major success: Eco Park's footfall crosses 75 lakh, says HIDCO

The footfall at Eco Park has crossed the 75 lakh mark according to a statistics issued by the Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO).

Exactly 75,01,629 have visited the Eco Park renamed as Prakriti Tirtha by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. As computerised tickets are given to the visitors, the data is preserved and the number of visitors coming to the park daily is monitored.

Banerjee inaugurated the park on December 29, 2012 and it was thrown open to public from January 1, 2013. After coming to power in 2011, Banerjee urged HIDCO officials to develop the park which spreads on a 480-acre land and is surrounded by 112 acres of waterbody.

The Japanese food court, which is a part of the newly-constructed Japanese garden, will be thrown open to public from April 30. The Japanese garden has a pagoda, a wish tank and this is the first-of-its-kind in eastern India and one of the 500 Japanese gardens worldwide. Japanese experts had visited the garden and expressed their satisfaction.

New Town's slogan is "there is never a dull moment at New Town. Here you can keep expecting the unexpected." This is absolutely true for the Eco Park as well. The park has become the most attractive destination for both domestic and foreign tourists because of its uniqueness. There are flower gardens and mystic gardens and the new addition will be a hibiscus garden. There is an arena where people can enjoy cycling and also a joggers' ally. There is a zone for other indoor games as well and people can go for boating inside the park. Two restaurants, Café Ekanta renamed by Chief Minister and a houseboat restaurant offer mouthwatering dishes.

Two important things that will add more value to the urban garden are replicas of the seven wonders of the world and a sculpture garden. Both are the initiatives of the Chief Minister. Final touches are being given to the sculpture garden which is likely to be opened within a month.

A replica of the Ghoom railway station of Darjeeling and the toy train are great crowd-pullers. Some artwork which were used in the prize winning puja pandals are in display at the art museum. Taking cue from the overwhelming enthusiasm of participants and spectators at the recently concluded angling competition at Eco Park, HIDCO authorities have decided to hold the second version on April 29.

The USP of Eco Park is cleanliness. A person littering or throwing soiled papers and plastic outside waste bins are fined. Debashis Sen, chairman of HIDCO said the park is closed for visitors on Monday for its upkeep.