Wonders Park needs sprucing up

The Wonders Park in Nerul on Tuesday completed three years since being commissioned. The park developed by NMMC has seen 8.23 lakh visitors during this period.

The garden that is considered a landmark of the city is in urgent need of sprucing up with the administration not paying much attention to it.

The Wonders Park was developed by NMMC to provide a quality recreational facility in the city.

Work on the garden started in 2010.

Rs17 crore were to be spent on its development. However, since the work was delayed, the cost shot up to Rs38 crore.

It was finally inaugurated on December 15, 2012 by the then central agriculture minister Sharad Pawar.

Residents queued up for entry to the park with the children paying Rs25 and adults Rs35 for entry.

T he park was equipped with four hi- tech rides and a toy train.

Even now, hundreds of visi-

tors visit the park daily with a huge intake of visitors on weekends.

T hough t he response is good, visitors say t hat t he NMMC administration is doing nothing to set things right in the park.

Manish Patel, a visitor, said “The traffic garden, amphitheatre are not being used while the science park plan too is still on paper. The food court has started only recently.”

“There is a need for more rides. The toy train has had troubles,” added Patel,

NMMC has earned around Rs3.5 crore in revenue from the tickets sold.

However, the annual expenditure on the park itself is Rs3.5 crore.

Hence the park is proving to be a white elephant for the civic body.

A NMMC official said, “We are working to improve the infrastructure at the park. A new toy train is being planned at the park. There will also be more play infrastructure.”

THE GARDEN THAT IS CONSIDERED A LANDMARK OF THE CITY IS IN URGENT NEED OF SPRUCING UP

FILE PHOTO Visitors say the Wonders Park needs more rides and the science park needs to be developed.