Kolkata: Dhakuria Lake, Subhas Sarobar to stay open from 5am to 7pm

KOLKATA: Five months after Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) reverted to pre-pandemic timings of operations at its parks and reopened them from dawn till evening, Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) announced the decision to remove restrictions on entry during the day at Rabindra Sarobar and Subhas Sarobar.
The lakes will now remain open from 5am to 7pm with no closure in between, KMDA announced on Wednesday.
The decision has brought cheer to citizens who have for two years now been demanding that the lakes be kept open all day.
The twin lakes were shut down following the Covid-imposed lockdown from April, 2020. Thereafter, it has opened intermittently but for restricted hours, first for a couple of hours in the morning and evening and then for a few hours more. But the lakes have been shut in the afternoon, leading to heartburn among a section of citizens and birders who love the tranquility of the lake during these hours.
“Notices have been issued on the full reopening as per pre-Covid timings for Rabindra Sarobar and Subhas Sarobar,” said a KMDA official.
The agency decision follows months of persuasion and requests from citizens. “The matter was forwarded before the urban development department for consideration and we are announcing the reopening after received the nod,” the official added.
KMDA has been silent on why it had persisted with restricted timings. Not just KMC parks, even entertainment parks like Salt Lake Central Park, Eco Park and others had opened late last year. In fact, the government notification on closure had only specified shutdown of entertainment parks when Covid cases shot up during the second wave. The two lakes are not categorised as entertainment parks.
Health experts have also time and again pointed out that the fear of infection is least in open spaces like parks and lakes. “I don’t understand why curbs were placed when air-conditioned spaces like malls, cinema halls and auditoriums were opened up,” said birder Sudip Ghosh, who looks forward to shots of winged guests in the afternoon.
“We are happy over the authorities decision of full reopening of the lakes. This will help people to get more time to inhale fresh air in the lakes to boost their immunity,” said environmentalist and Rabindra Sarobar morning walker Somendra Mohan Ghosh.
Jadavpur University former professor Prabir Kumar Bose also welcomed the decision as did Arun Kumar Dalmiya, a regular at Rabindra Sarobar. They said the closure timing should be extended to match that of KMC parks.
Those residing close to Subhas Sarobar also welcomed the development. “I cannot go out early morning and used to prefer walking at the lake around late morning or early afternoon. But in the past two years, that hasn’t been possible. I look forward to resuming the walks now,” said Rupak Ghosh, a resident of Kadapara.