[Assam] Dhemaji gets park after 20-year wait (The Telegraph, 21.02.2009)

[Buljit Buragohain]

Dhemaji gets park after 20-year wait

OUR CORRESPONDENT 

Dhemaji 





 

Children play in Dhemaji park 
Feb. 20: Space constraint, stubborn encroachers and a half-constructed community hall. The administration of flood-ravaged Dhemaji jumped over all three hurdles to give the district its first children’s park in 20 years.
The park, the largest in the state with a three-hectare area, was inaugurated by chief minister Tarun Gogoi last Tuesday in the presence of the minister for culture and sports and youth affairs, Bharat Narah.
“The first 200 metres of the park are strewn with slides, skids and swings for children. Special care has been taken to ensure that these are made of moulded plastic to avoid injury,” Dhemaji deputy commissioner P. Ashok Babu said. 
The park project had been stuck for long because of paucity of open space.
“We did not let the enthusiasm die down, though. After a thorough hunt, we zeroed in on a plot belonging to the government but occupied illegally by some people for the past 20 years. But we virtually gave up hope on the land, situated in Aradhal gaon panchayat, because we knew the villagers would refuse to vacate the area,” an official said.
It took a series of discussions to persuade the villagers to move out and the land was finally vacated in September last year. 
But there was another problem.
The entry to the park was partially obstructed by a half-constructed community hall belonging to a Koch Rajbongshi organisation. 
When the Dhemaji district administration approached the organisation with a request to stop the construction, they readily agreed to shift their hall to an adjacent plot.
Built with Rs 1.3 crore collected from the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, the district development plan and the Rashtriya Sama Vikas Yojana, the park became a huge hit even before it was thrown open.
Scores gathered on the periphery everyday enquiring how much work had progressed.
“We had to deploy policemen from 2pm everyday to ensure that there were no undue hindrances in construction and to keep curious onlookers, who wanted to enter the park for a closer look, at bay,” Babu said.
“The park has several interesting features, including solar power lights to ensure a zero maintenance park,” he said. 
After the inauguration ceremony, Gogoi suggested that entry to the park be made free for children below 10 years. A minimal fee will be collected from adults. 
 (The Telegraph,21.02.2009)



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