Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Major facelift for Putharikandam maidan

New LOOK: The design of the gateway leading to the Putharikandam maidan at Pazhavangady in the city.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The city corporation has cleared the decks for a project to beautify the Putharikandam maidan at East Fort and convert the sprawling grounds into a green lung. The Rs.4 crore project is expected to take off soon.

The blueprint proposes redesigning the ground along a central axis linking the main entrance to an open-air stage at the Power House side. The Quit India gate at the entrance would be demolished and replaced with a new arched structure reflecting the architecture of East Fort.

The highlight of the project is the creation of a green belt along the periphery with a 750-metre paved walkway winding through the trees, flower beds and shrubs. More than 200 trees will be transplanted from other places to save time on creating the green belt. Kumar Group, designers of the project, is in consultation with the Forest Department and the Kerala Agricultural University for technical assistance to transplant half-grown trees.

S. Sasikumar, Planner, Kumar Group, said indigenous species would be selected for the green canopy. “Transplanting half-grown trees will be a challenge. Their survival depends on scientific uprooting and replanting. The trees will be transported to the ground in trucks and replanted in the same direction to the sun,” he said. Small pavilions on the walkway will provide shelter from the rain while cement benches will be constructed at intervals for seating.

The central portion of the 8.5-acre maidan is to be maintained as an open ground with a fine sand surface to host mass gatherings. The ground will have a seating capacity of 20,000.

Equipped for mega entertainment events, the multi-level stage at the eastern end would be constructed to accommodate 600 people. An emergency exit and a separate parking lot would be provided for Fire Force tenders. The entire premises would be provided with chain link fencing and gates to keep out anti-social elements at night.

Another highlight of the design is a rainwater harvesting system which uses a network of perforated subsurface pipes to direct storm water run-off to underground tanks. The water will be pumped to a large pond at the south-east corner and used for irrigating the plants.

The main entrance at Pazhavangady would be provided with ticket counters and a queue system. A parking lot for 86 cars and 229 two-wheelers is to be set up at the north-east end with access through a bridge across the Amayizhanjan canal. The designers have proposed a multi-level car parking facility to accommodate future needs.

In the erstwhile Travancore, Putharikandom was a traditional paddy field used to cultivate paddy for use in the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple.

As a symbolic representation of the original purpose, the design proposes the creation and maintenance of a tiny paddy field on eight cents of land behind the open-air stage at the east end.

Chairman of the works standing committee K. Rajasekharan Nair said the corporation had decided to stop renting out the ground for trade fairs and other events from next week. He said the design was finalised and the project would be launched next month. “We hope to complete it within a year,” he said.

The designers have also prepared a supplementary proposal for reconstruction of the Amayizhanjan canal from the Power House junction to Pazhavangady as a double box structure for easy cleaning and maintenance. The stretch of the canal can be covered with slabs and used for paid car parking or widening of the road. The Rs.3 crore proposal has been submitted to the government for approval.

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