KOLKATA: Two days after KMC announced that its parks would remain opened in the evening, several parks in residential neighbourhoods that were padlocked on Wednesday opened at 4pm for two hours on Thursday.
Rawdon Street resident and lawyer Ankit Agarwal, who had wanted the parks to reopen in the evening, visited all the parks in the locality after they opened on Thursday.
“Rawdon Square, Victoria Square and Nature Study Park have opened. Citizens, particularly the elderly who are unable to step out in the morning or homemakers who are too busy in the morning to have time to exercise, will welcome the move,” he said, hoping the park timings will be extended so that more people can exercise in a safe environment.
Allen Park on Park Street, Minto Park and Deshapriya Park were also open in the evening on Thursday. Malay Mitra, a septuagenarian and a resident of Sarat Bose Road, who turned up at Deshapriya Park at 5pm, said he had long been waiting for an opportunity to take a walk in the evening at his favourite park.
Parents of young children now hope KMC and KMDA will open the parks for kids as well. Parks have been off bounds for children for over a year and a half now though they are allowed into malls and cinemas.
