Nageswara Rao Park to be renovated at Rs 12 Crores

The Greater Chennai Corporation proposed to renovate the

iconic K Nageswara Rao Pantulu Park, popularly known as

Nageswara Rao Park in Mylapore under the Namakku Name

Thittam at an estimated cost of Rs.11 64 Crores.

Long time residents of Mylapore say the park was calm and

serene those days. The implementation of the Metro Rail

Project has made the park unusable. “We are sure that after

the renovation and the completion of the Metro Rail Project

the park will regain its lost glory and will be among the most

attractive spots of Mylapore,” Jayanthi Srivatsan, a resident of

Luz remarked.

According to the Corporation the renovation to be completed

in three months involve infrastructure upgrade, landscaping,

installation of new fixtures, and development of pedestrian

pathways and play areas.

The Corporation officials also said that they plan to construct a

compound wall on the eastern side of the park and add to gym

infrastructure without disturbing the park areas.

Nageswara Rao Park is a 4-acre (1.6-hectare) park located on

Luz Corner in Mylapore. The park, with a separate play area for

children, was kept open to the public from 5 am to 8 pm. and is

a popular place for morning walks among the locals. The park

also hosts music kutcheris and civic forums on the weekends all

year round. The Park has a badminton court and is maintained

by Sundaram Finance.

Nageswara Rao Park was originally called Aratha kuttai (big pond)  In

deference to a request by the Chennai Corporation, the owners of the

pond, Ramayamma Pantulu, Aravamutha Iyengar and Nainiappa

Mudaliar, donated the pond to the civic body for creating a park

After its creation, the park was named after  Desodharaka Nageswara

Rao Pantulu . It was opened to the public by P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja,

the then Chief Minister of Madras, on Oct 20 1940. Originally

developed in a much smaller area on Luz Church Road, the park was

expanded when more land was donated by Ramayee Ammal, M.

Nainappa Mudaliyar V. Kumaraswamy Raja, Vinjamur

Govindarajachari and Aravamadhu Iyengar in the same year

In 1996, the Chennai Corporation re-developed the park and

started maintaining it. A pond known as Aaratha kuttai was

filled in and made into a garden. It was Nageswara Rao,

founder of the neighboring Amrutanjan factory, who convinced

the local residents to develop the area when the pond began to

dry up. It is in his memory that the park was named after him.