Theme park with a difference

BANGALORE: Nestling in the heart of Udupi city, the Mahatma Gandhi Park is a theme park with a difference. Developed on a patch of public property at Kolambe, in Udupi, it is a promising initiative from the local community that has been attracting lots of children and parents alike.The park project was designed and conceptualised by Sunil Shetty Kolambe, Secretary of Kolambe-Shanthi Nagara Development Committee. Named after the father of the nation, the Mahatma Gandhi Park stretches across 1.8 acres of land. Making a big difference, the park not only houses a rain water pond but also an auditorium that has been built in memory of Kodancha Hari Ramakrishna Rao.The Development Committee being in the forefront of taking a lot of new initiatives, the park now has life size concrete statues of wild animals like elephant, tiger, giraffe, crocodile, monkeys, deers etc and this has been attracting lots of children from different parts of Karnataka. For many tourists, the visit to the park is a memorable experience and one finds many of them clicking away enthusiastically, photographs of their friends, in front of the massive statues of the wild animals. Apart from this, like any other this park too houses various play items for tiny tots like see-saw, slides, swings etc, thereby, creating a unique children’s corner. Not forgetting the needs of youngsters and their parents, the park has a volley ball and badminton courts befitting the huge crowds that throng the park especially in the evenings and weekends.“We developed this Park at a cost of `20 lakhs, with funds raised from Udupi MLA and other local people who generously contributed. We also have plans to build a hanging bridge, an artificial water fall, walking tracks as well as a garden,” said Sunil Shetty Kolambe.