Noida park commemorating martyrs, freedom fighters to open on Aug 15

An upcoming park in Noida dedicated to martyrs and freedom fighters, which will have a memorial square, a flame-shaped tricolour and an open-air theatre for cultural activities, is expected to open for public this Independence Day, officials said.

Envisaged in 2015, the Shaheed Bhagat Singh park will be spread over an area of 40 acres and will come up in Sector 150.

It will fulfil its primary objective of increasing afforestation, enhancing carbon sequestration, generating oxygen and producing biomass, according to Noida Authority.

Over 2,000 large trees of 58 species native, naturalised and ornamental are proposed to be planted in the park. It will also have 45,000 shrubs and 1.1 lakh ground covers and natural grasses, a senior official said.

With 75 per cent of proposed green area, the park will help mitigate water scarcity by achieving 100 per cent ground water recharge from the available land area.

"Clean water and sanitation, and life on land the park is designed to fulfil two of these objectives as per UNDP charter for goals to be achieved for sustainable development," Noida Authority General Manager Rajeev Tyagi said.

"The park is being developed at a cost of Rs 28 crore, and we are expecting its inauguration by August 15 this year," he told PTI.

Among its various components, the park will have a memorial square, a flame-shaped tricolour with groves of trees of saffron, white and green colours, a 'Garden of Martyrs' with memorial plazas and memorial columns.

There will also be a variety of gardens within the park such as 'Pleasure Garden', 'Garden of Fragrance' along with a children's play area, besides a lake, an amphitheatre and a food court.

He said there will be space for cultural activities with a 'Rang Manch' (open-air theatre) and for educational activity with a memorial of Bhagat Singh.

"The possibility of creating a major landscape space of truly urban scale, is fully explored here and finds expression in the form of these kinds of activities that fulfil the function that public parks are required to perform while satisfying the overall role of being a Memorial, Tyagi said.