Citizen Park inside Tattoo Ground garrison may be thrown open this year

Srinagar, March 21: The state government is “expecting” to throw open the Citizen Park at Tattoo Ground by the end of this year.
The ground has been under the possession of army for the last many decades.
Former Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed has, in 2015, laid foundation of the facility coming up over 17 acres of land.
Administrative Secretary Tourism, Sarmad Hafeez, told The Kashmir Monitor that the construction work of Citizen Park under first phase has been completed.
“The work was already initiated and to some extent we have completed a part of it. Now tendering will be done for the second phase and we hope that park will be thrown open for public by the end of December 2018,” he said.
Hafeez said that the government has chalked out a “proper plan” to ensure completion of the Citizen Park within stipulated time.
“We have discussed how to start it and a bar chart has been prepared about every progress to be made on the project. This month the tendering process will be completed,” he said.
Hafeez said the government had consulted various consultants for suggestions over developing park both on modern and heritage levels to cater to all age groups.
Administrative Commissioner Secretary Tourism informed that a portion of the land would be converted into an eco-park.
“We will keep available all the facilities for the public there. During mornings it can be used for jogging, and a section of the land will be developed as eco-park. The idea is that the people living in the vicinity should be benefitted at large,” he said.
The park, as per the Hafeez, will have services like amusement and children’s aquatic games areas, walkways, food court, art gallery, library, coffee shop, herbal garden, parking bays and lawns and landscape area.
The state government earlier appealed the army to vacate 1,000 Kanal of prime land at Tattoo Ground in Batamaloo area of Srinagar.
In 2015, after civil-military liaison conference chaired by then Late Chief Minister, Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, Army had agreed to vacate 136 kanals of land of which a citizen park was one component.