Four new parks on Tapi riverbank

Surat: Four new river parks will be set up on the banks of river Tapi in Surat city and district in the next six months. More than one lakh trees will also be planted to increase the green cover in city. The work to be done under Tapi River rejuvenation Project will carried out with grants from National River Conservation Project (NRCP).
Apart from this, heavy plantation drive will be carried out on the riverbank at six places and eight vermicompost plants will also be set up. These parks will come up near Shiv Mandir at Bhairav at the cost of Rs 67 lakh, at Bhimnath temple in Dungra at the cost of Rs 82 lakh, at Galteswar bank at the cost of Rs 1.38 crore and at Waghecha at the cost of Rs 92 lakh.
These six spots are used by people largely for picknicking purposes while incidents of drowning in the river are also very high on these particular spots. “The idea is to develop these spots with green cover and provide people a safe venue for a one-day outing.” said an official from SMC.
SMC will also carry out a big plantation drive on the banks of Tapi River at Katargam and Sarthana water works in city besides Valak, Kamrej, Kholwad and Kathor in Surat district. More than 50,000 trees will be planted at these spots.
Under Tapi Shuddhikaran project, eight vermicompost plants will be set up in coming six months, of which six will be in SMC and two in Surat Urban Development Authority (SUDA) areas.
“The plan is to gather water hyacinth from the river and take these to the plant sites where the weed waste will be turned into vermicompost manure,” said an executive engineer from SMC.
Municipal Commissioner Banchhanidhi Pani said, “The creation of green space in and around city will create a healthier living environment for people and wherever we have the opportunity and space we will develop more such parks and green areas for people’s benefit.”