KMC to create urban forestry at Rawdon Square

Kolkata: Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will create urban forestry at the three-acre green zone at Rawdon Square that has been lying neglected and abandoned for nearly three decades.

"We will take up massive plantations and walkways and seating arrangements will be created around the sprawling waterbody inside Rawdon Square. It has been lying abandoned for many years and several issues have prevented us from beautifying the place," said Chairman Board of Administrators Firhad Hakim after inspecting the place on Saturday afternoon.

The square, located between AJC Bose Road to the east and Rawdon Street to the west, had hogged the limelight in the late 1980s when the erstwhile Left Front government had proposed to convert it into a cultural-cum-shopping complex. The project was vehemently opposed by the Opposition led by Mamata Banerjee who was then a Congress leader. She even sat on a dharna following a clash with the police where 50 Congress activists were injured. The square was put under lock and key since then.

There were attempts to convert the square into a parking lot in 2018. However, the plan could not materialise after an NGO moved the Green bench opposing the move and its restoration was ordered.

As per estimates, the total cost of renovation will be to the tune of Rs 50 lakh.

The civic body has already cleared huge quantities of construction debris that had piled up in the place. Local sources said it had become an anti-social den after dusk with drug addicts and other miscreants indulging in nuisance.