Madurai
The parks maintained by Madurai Corporation across the city were spruced up on Tuesday, as they were permitted to reopen, following the relaxation of lockdown norms.
According to the Standard Operating Procedure issued by the government the children’s play area will remain closed in the parks. It also said that persons above 65 years, persons with comorbidities, pregnant women and children below the age of 10 years were advised not to use the parks.
City Engineer S. Arasu said that the Eco Park at Tallakulam was opened for public use on Tuesday with all safety precautions, including thermal scanning and spraying of hand sanitisers for all those who entered the parks. A Corporation official said that only a limited number of people came to the park on Tuesday.
But, the Rajaji Children’s Park will remain closed, said the City Engineer.
“There are around 35 smaller Corporation parks across the city and all officials have been instructed to reopen the park with necessary safety precautions stipulated in the government guidelines,” he added.
M.C. Sri Raju, a resident of Shenbaga Thottam Colony in Anna Nagar, said that reopening of parks will help residents have a peaceful walk amidst the pandemic.
A.A.G. Rajkumar, president of Walker's Club, which runs the Vandiyur park at K.K.Nagar, said that the park will be reopened only after necessary safety precautions are adopted.
“We are planning to hold meetings with the members so as to finalise the measures that we need to take to ensure the safety of people who come to the park,” he said.
Corporation Commissioner S. Visakan said that the civic body will intensify the door-to-door surveillance, following the relaxation of lockdown norms.
City Health Officer P. Kumaraguruparan said that they will continue to test around 2,500 people every day. “We will give additional focus on densely populated areas, as the public movement will increase following the relaxation of lockdown norms,” he added.