Eco Park's Banglar Gram to attract staggering footfall

KOLKATA: Banglar Gram, a replica of a typical village of Bengal at Eco Park, is seen as a major crowd puller.

Inaugurated on August 15, Banglar Gram is an initiative of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who wanted urban people, who do not have direct acquaintance with the villages of Bengal, to have an idea of the straw-made houses and the lifestyle of the people residing there.

Constructed by the Housing

Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO), it has come up on a plot of 3-acre and is situated between the herbal garden and the musical fountain at Eco Park.

Benglar gram is an oasis far from the hustle and bustle of the urban life. The peace and serenity of the area have attracted a huge number of visitors. There is a palki, an ancient mode of transport in the villages and a rath, a chariot kept in many villages of Bengal, with the idols of Jagannath, Balaram and Subhadra seated on it. Almost every house in Banglar Gram has a Tulsi and a chandi mandap.

There are mud houses where statues of farmers holding ploughs made of fiberglass are kept. The houses have seasonal vegetables kept out in the open either in front of the houses or behind them. Replicas of gardeners growing vegetables have been displayed. Steps have been taken to ensure that replicas of actual rural houses are built.

Banglar Gram will give an idea of the actual villages and the lives of the people residing in rural Bengal to the tourists coming from other states and countries. Eco Park has become one of the most popular tourist destinations of Kolkata and one of the finest urban parks in the country. It stands on a land of 482-acre, surrounded by a water body of 102-acre.

Mamata Banerjee has named it Prakriti Tirtha. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Urban Development and Municipal Affairs minister Firhad Hakim had often visited Banglar Gram and oversaw the work on their to the Kolkata airport. She had expressed her satisfaction and gave suggestions that have been incorporated.