New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) will bear the cost of painting the facades of the adjacent buildings situated near the Sonar Kella Park, provided their owners agree to cooperate.
The decision was taken at the board meeting of NKDA held on Saturday afternoon. NKDA will give letters to the representatives of housing cooperatives situated close by, seeking their cooperation.
NKDA officials have discussed the financial implications at length in the board meeting. If the housing cooperatives agree, the Sonar Kella Park will be the only urban park in the country where the adjacent structures will be converted in an extension of the park to create a great ambience.
NKDA has also proposed to set up an artificial desert to give the park the authentic feel of Jaisalmer.
State Urban Development minister Firhad Hakim had inaugurated the Sonar Kella Park on May 8. The park has been dedicated to Satyajit Ray, the world famous film director.
The film Sonar Kella — which was released in 1975, was made with the financial assistance of the state government. It is the only one of Roy's films which does not have a female character.
It had bagged a National Award and Subrata Mukherjee, the then state Information minister had gone to Delhi to receive the award on behalf of the state government.
After coming to power in 2011, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had urged the Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO), the organisation which plans and executes projects in New Town, to develop the city as a unique place to live.
The buildings and facades to be painted have been identified and a budgetary estimate has also been made in the NKDA board meeting on Saturday. The park covers 3.65 acre of land between streets 110 and 146.
"Our engineers will visit these housing cooperatives to inform them about our plans. Then we will send the necessary letters to them. I think it will take another two to three weeks to send letters to these cooperatives," said Debashis Sen, chairman cum managing director, HIDCO.
Sonar Kella Park, which has already become popular among visitors in New Town, showcases the famous desert scene from Sonar Kella where Feluda and his nephew Topse along with their friend Jatayu were crossing the desert on camel-back. The scene has been recreated with the help of models.
In the park, there are cacti and date palm trees, wall paintings depicting some scenes from the film and many more things. The desert of Rajasthan has been recreated impeccably.