More green spaces in store for Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam: In a major step to expand green spaces, the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) is gearing up to develop four major parks in the city.

Apart from facilitating walking tracks, garden benches, amusement rides for children, open gym equipment for different age groups, hard landscaping, green spaces and washrooms, these parks will house indigenous trees, plants and herbs, including neem, Indian Beech tree and almond trees.

With the space for the proposed parks already earmarked at Kommadi, Papayyarajupalem and Pendurthi at an estimated cost of Rs 9 crore, Commissioner of GVMC G Srijana mentioned that Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy would lay foundation stone for the parks during his ensuing visit to the city on Friday.

At Kommadi, the proposed park will be developed in an area of 4.40 acres, the other two parks are coming up at NAD layout -LN Nagar Park and LIC Layout Park at Papayyarajupalem to the extent of 0.75 acre and 0.70 acre respectively. The fourth one is getting ready at Aditya Nagar Park, Pendurthi in 0.75 acre.

While three parks would be developed in zone VI, the other park would be readied at zone I. Further, the GVMC intends to rope in residents' welfare associations for the maintenance of the new parks. "From the date of stone laying ceremony, it would take three to four months to ready the major parks," the Municipal Commissioner told The Hans India.

Elaborating further, M Damodhar Rao, Assistant Director (Horticulture), G V M C said, "Of the 1,032 geo-tagged open spaces by the Town Planning Department, four of them are marked for major parks with landscaping features along with other facilities and few others for green spaces. The proposed four open spaces with partial compound wall and fencing will be further developed into full-fledged parks with added features to cater to diverse age groups."

In addition, places are also identified by the GVMC for a greater number of green spaces across the zones in the city.