Bhopal: The park opposite Swami Vivekananda Library, which was once known as Readers’ Park, turned into a garbage dump, a place where drunkards gathered to drink as time passed by. People coming to the library preferred reading inside to save from the stench emanating from the garbage. Bhopal Runners, along with BMC and CPA took the charge of redeveloping the park and bringing it back to its original charm and start the Readers’ Park again for the readers.
According to Tanmay Jain of Bhopal Runners, the park got defamed not just as a place for drunkards but also for prostitution. “People living in nearby areas complained several times about the miscreants but no action was taken ever. In fact, the library was the caretaker of the park but somehow the rights of the park were taken away from it. LIC, which took the responsibility of maintenance of the park, too took back the support and BMC never took any interest in maintaining it,” he said.
Seventeen vehicles full with garbage were cleaned from the park after the restoration of work began. It has also got 12 new benches for visitors and readers. From Saturday, wi-fi connectivity has also been established in the park.
The Readers’ Park will be inaugurated on Monday by Mamta Mishra, president of Bonsai Club and from now onwards the complete rights of the park will be vested on Swami Vivekananda Library which will be taking all the decisions of the park. Tanmay also stressed that the park had seen the presence and launch of many great writers like Khushwant Singh and Shobhaa De.