Eco Park in New Town faces threat of mosquitoes

Eco Park in New Town, Calcutta, is supposed to be the favorite weekend hangout in the city but, mosquitoes are posing a major threat because, swarms of them descend on the 480-acre park once dusk sets in and visitors are forced to leave. Evening time is the best time to visit the park and, see the crowd swelling as they throng to the banks of the 100-acre water body - but the insects play spoilsport.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 16 February 2017.

The park sees a continuous stream of visitors during winter and on New Year's Day it had footfalls of 200,000. The gates of the park open at noon and close at 7.30pm from Tuesdays to Saturdays and on Sundays and holidays, the gates open an hour earlier at 11am. It is closed on Monday and, entry tickets can be bought till 6.30pm.
However, those who come to the park in the beat a hasty retreat because of the mosquitoes. Even morning walkers and cyclists give the park a miss because of this menace.


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Eco-Park in New Town to soon have a Japanese restaurant offering sushi or tempura

Those who visit the Eco Park in New Town will soon get to taste Japanese delicacies like sushi or tempura at a restaurant that is coming up next to the upcoming Japanese garden. There are numerous Chinese restaurants in Kolkata that offer Chinese food but very few Japanese restaurants. The restaurant would be in sync with the Japanese garden.
The concept is to showcase Japanese culture in Eco Park.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 29 January 2017.

The HIDCO authorities plan to select a bidder who would have experience of running at least one Japanese restaurant in India. They should have international expertise and preferably be of foreign origin. In addition, the cuisine of the restaurant must be originating from Japan to ensure authenticity.
The structure of the restaurant has already been set up by HIDCO.
During the Bengal Global Business Summit, H.E. Mr Kenji Hiramatsu, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Embassy of Japan, New Delhi, had visited the upcoming Japanese Garden in Eco Park. In December last year, a workshop had been organized in New Town on the Japanese garden and a team of Japanese landscape experts had appreciated the concept. They had come up with helpful suggestions. They have also indicated that there were more than 500 Japanese gardens in the world and the one at Eco Park would be an addition to that list.


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A total of 77 hawkers allotted stalls in food plaza of New Town, Kolkata

A total of 77 hawkers have been allotted stalls in the food plaza of New Town. There are ten specially designed food stalls each of 450 sq ft space. There is a space for eating and a glass front pane in the stalls for the hawkers to showcase their products. Each shop has a front portion for selling and a rear portion for cooking.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 31 December 2016.

There are many unplanned informal hawker stalls spread in the area - these were usually covered with tarpaulin sheets of various sizes and shapes. These will now be a thing of the past because of the specially designed food plaza in New Town because the HIDCO authorities have decided to rehabilitate the hawkers in a planned manner. The stalls of various sizes were distributed through lottery.
It took about two years to come up with the stalls at a cost of Rs 3.62 crore and a rent of Rs 4 per sq ft per month will be charged - at present, the existing tariff in the township ranges between Rs 30 to Rs 45 or more per sq ft per month.


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New Town in Kolkata intensifies drive against stray cattle

At least 600 cows, buffaloes and goats have been injured in road accidents and rescued from New Town, Kolkata, in the past five years. These cattle are involved in road accidents almost every single day, hence the New Town authorities have declared war against the owners of stray cattle to spare motorists the risk of ramming into one on the township roads.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 14 September 2016.

Cows and goats grazing in fields between high-rise buildings is a common sight in the area and these animals often move into the path of speeding vehicles on Major Arterial Road resulting in accidents. Therefore, New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) plans to launch a drive against the cowsheds that have come up in the township encroaching on private and government land.
Owners of the illegal cowsheds will first be served a notice asking them to close their units and move their cattle out from New Town. Those not removed from the township would be seized by the NKDA and kept in a specially built enclosure for some time before being auctioned.
There is a proposal to levy a fine of Rs 5,000 for the owners of cattle that are found on the township roads. Such cattle would be treated as stray and kept in the enclosure and returned to the owner after they pay the fine.


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The government has announced 13 winners of Fast track Smart City competition and Lucknow topped the list. Others are Warangal, Dharamsala, Chandigarh, Raipur, New Town Kolkata, Bhagalpur, Panaji, Port Blair, Imphal, Ranchi, Agartala and Faridabad - in that order.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 24 May 2016.

Various criteria for being labeled as a Smart City are - assured water and power supply, sanitation and solid waste management systems, efficient urban mobility and public transportation, IT connectivity, e-governance and citizen participation. Under the Smart City Mission, a total of 100 cities across the country will be identified and developed as smart cities by 2019-20. The Union government will provide financial support to the extent of Rs 48,000 crore over five years.
Already 20 smart cities were selected during 2015-16 as per the Mission guidelines. Another 40 would be selected during 2016-17 and the remaining 40 during the next financial year. Each city that will be selected in different rounds of competition will be given central assistance of Rs 200 crore in the first year and Rs 100 crore each during the subsequent three financial years. State governments and respective urban local bodies will be expected to provide matching funds of the same amount to the cause.


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