The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram took part in the placemaking marathon competition hosted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. The idea behind the competition is to reimagine one or more public spaces within a city and transform it within 75 hours.
The initiative was taken up in Gurugram from the 21st to the 23rd of March, where a MCG park in sector-38 was transformed to be more people-centric and to incorporate the concepts of sustainability and development. The best part about Gururgam transformation is its permananet nature. All the interventions done within 75 hours, using recycled material are permanenetly installed for the community.
Several initiatives were taken up:
The park was given a name ” Anand Park” to make it landmark for the area, with several community activities.
– Refurbishing and repainting of the existing swings and seating in the area. Trees were colourfully painted in lime colors to keep them safe, make them more attractive and highlighted their names.
– 4 compost pits were installed to manage horticulture waste on the site itself. All the spaces were cleaned and waste was dumped in these pits to deconpose naturally.
– Existing dustbins were cleaned and refurbished to better highlight their locations and added a few more. Existing built structures’ walls were repainted with artwork to boost the cultural integrity of the park.
– New installations were made out of scrap and waste materials – interactive seating was made out of waste tires, sandpit for children constructed out of waste bottles. Multiple sculptures were installed using cycle tyres and waste steel pipes.
Also, the floors and walls were painted to enhance the cultural expression, and several games were painted to attract the people.
– New ambiance lights were installed for the safety and beautification of the area. Additionally, the existing lights were repaired in order to enhance feelings of safety and security in the area.
– MCG conducted a plantation drive to increase the level of greenery in the park, with over 500 shrubs and about 500 flowering plants added to the area.
– An open library was made and people from RWA’s donated several books. This was well appreciated by many children in the neighborhood.
– A signpost was made out of waste material to guide people through the activities they could take part in, in the park.
Along with these, hosted a cultural engagement program held in the evening for all 3 days. This included activities such as Zumba, Nukkad Natak performances, band performances and a road safety zone to better educate citizens on these issues.
The concluding ceremony for the event was attended by the Sr. Deputy Mayor Promila Gajesing Kablana, Corporator, Hement Kumar, Anoop Singh, Ashwani Sharma, Kuldeep Bohra, Ashwani Sharma, Additional Commissioner of the MCG – Dr. Vaishali Sharma and Deputy Municipal Commissioner Dr. Vijay Pal Yadav.
The event was organized by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram, with support from Knowledge Partners WRI India and activity parters Raahgiri Foundation, their CSR parter Jubiliant Foodworks Ltd. and Kalagram. The event was a part of India’s SMART Cities Mission and the Swachh Bharat Mission.
