Transformation Of E Block, C R Park

The Transformation Of E Block, C R Park, Durga Puja Park Courtesy Chittaranjan Park Purbachal Durga Puja Samiti And Resident’s Welfare Association, E-Block, C R Park

by Sri Saibal Ghosh, Member, EC of CPPDPS and E-Block RWA, with inputs from Shri S S Roy Burman.

The C R Park, E Block park has been the centre point of my life for the past 50 years encompassing my growing up years, since the first time I put my foot on it as an 11-year-old pre-teenager, in the winter of 1976! Since then, for the next 12 years, the air around this park rented with our shouts of joy and despair during our evening football games, cricket matches and of course our ubiquitous ‘addas’.  I remember the hours we spent as teenagers, slogging away to swipe the park with brooms to get rid of the prickly thorns on the ground, hurt our young feet often! Those days C R Park was developing and slowly getting populated with erstwhile wild open spaces turning into makeshift playgrounds with the removal of wild bushes and other such foliage. Of course, the E-Block parks have undergone changes down these years, especially with the division of the larger park into two smaller ones. MCD Park (Plot no. E-835) have been divided into two parks which have been re-christened as the E-Block Durga Puja Park and the other E-Block Ornamental Park. Similarly, MCD Park (Plot no. E-908) have been divided into two parts – one named Kali Puja Park and the other named Children’s Park.

 

The Chittaranjan Park Purbachal Durga Puja Samiti (Regd.) {CPPDPS} has been organising the annual Durga Puja since the year 2000 in Durga Puja Park, E-Block! CPPDPS has had to face tremendous obstacles both natural and man-made, while organising Durga Puja down these years!

 

One of the major natural calamities, which CPPDPS faced, were the sudden disruptions of Durga Puja celebrations due to untimely rains! Despite waterproofing of the Pandal, water always flows in from the side and even from the top leading a pool of water collecting inside. Till now we had to live with these hurdles, hassles and disruptions from this resultant waterlogging! However, last year when one of our members nearly received an electric shock due from an accidental live wire submerged in water, we decided enough is enough and something had to be done to prevent this type of a scenario. After huddling together by the Executive Committee of CPPDPS, it was decided to fund the Revamping and Expansion of the existing Rainwater Harvesting Pit in E-Block Durga Puja Park ahead of the celebrations of Durga Puja in October 2026. The CPPDPS Executive Committee cleared this proposal immediately and approved a budget for this project. 

 Since this project was to improve the condition of the E-Block Durga Puja Park, which would benefit the residents who use this park throughout the year, CPPDPS approached RWA, E-Block for jointly funding this project. RWA, E-Block readily agreed to this proposal and agreed to bear 50% of the project cost. Hence, the initiative for this project was taken by Chittaranjan Park Purbachal Durga Puja Samiti (CPPDPS) and Resident’s Welfare Association, E-Block (RWA, E-Block), C R Park joined as co-sponsors and the project has been carried out to its logical finish solely by these two bodies i.e. CPPDPs and RWA, E-Block.

Smt Shika Roy, MLA of Greater Kailash Constituency has been extremely supportive of this project. When the Management Committee members of CPPDPS and RWA, E-Block met her, she gave her verbal approval immediately and asked us not to worry about the procedural clearances required for implementing revamping and expansion of the Rainwater Harvesting Project from the local authorities. She asked us to begin work immediately and expressed her support for the successful implantation of the project.

We are immensely grateful to Dr. Suptendu P Biswas, Partner of M/s. VSPB Associates, with corporate office in E-843 (LGF), C R Park for providing the technical expertise and consultancy for this project, which he provided gratis i.e. without charging any fee! VSPB Associates are award winning Landscape Architects, Urban Designers and Planners. We also thank Shri PK Sarkar, President, RWA, E-Block for introducing us to Dr. Suptendu P Biswas.

 

The Revamping and Expansion project for Rainwater Harvesting in Durga Puja Park, E-Block has been successfully completed. The project involved dumping of over 50 truckloads of loose earth, creating a gradient, compaction of the earth, digging a drain all around to help the water flow reach the water pit underground and covering the drains properly with stone chips and gravel. Grass is being laid in the revamped Durga Puja Park which will help in compaction of the soil and turn it into a lush green cover. The work on revamping the Badminton Court in the centre of the park and repairing the puja Bedi has also been completed.

We have been overjoyed to find the positive result of this project immediately! While it rained quite heavily in the past 2 weeks, unlike the previous years, there was no water logging in Durga Puja Park, E-Block, obviously pointing out to the fact that our rainwater harvesting project is successful! In comparison, the adjacent Ornamental Park remained in knee-deep water for a few days! 

We would like to thank the following from both Chittaranjan Park Purbachal Durga Puja Samiti (CPPDPS) and Resident’s Welfare Association, E-Block (RWA E-Block) who relentlessly followed up on the practical implementation of the project in extreme heat, humid and rainy weather! They were seen always supervising the work voluntarily! We are really indebted to them! 

·      Shri S S Roy Burman, Member, RWA, E-Block;

·      Shri Niloj Acharya, Secretary, CPPDPS and Member, RWA, E-Block;

·      Shri Bhaskar Sen, Treasurer, CPPDPS and RWA, E-Block; and

·      Shri Sabyasachi Sen, Member, CPPDPS and RWA, E-Block

Our next target is to implement Rainwater Harvesting Project in Ornamental Park, E-Block which will be tailor-made to suit the contour and gradient of the park. There are three more parks in E-Block which will also be targeted next, to ensure that E-Block becomes the first block in C. R. Park to implement Rainwater Harvesting Projects in all its parks, thus helping in raising the underground water level in this area.