Nagpur: Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has accelerated its ambitious plan to redevelop 75 playgrounds and 75 parks as part of its Amrit Mahotsav year, with each Assembly constituency set to get theme-based recreational and sports infrastructure.Mayor Neeta Thakre on Wednesday directed officials to create Olympic-standard sports facilities and ensure every park is equipped with rainwater harvesting, toilets and adequate parking.The directions came during a review meeting at Smart City headquarters where concept plans prepared by consultants for several parks and playgrounds, including Dabha, Kanhere, Pandey Layout, Dighori, Ramabai Udyan and Bharat Mata Udyan were presented.Proposed facilities include swimming pools, basketball, tennis, volleyball and kabaddi courts, mallakhamb arenas, jogging tracks, children’s play areas, amphitheatres, rock-climbing walls, botanical and glow gardens, gymnasiums and Zumba halls.The mayor asked officials to refine the designs to make them more citizen-friendly while framing a dedicated maintenance and management policy for all assets.Ruling party leader Narendra Borkar said the project, conceived to improve civic infrastructure and nurture national and international-level sportspersons, would also focus on environmental conservation, landscaping and theme-based park development after consulting local corporators and residents.Standing committee chairperson Shivani Dani-Wakhare stressed that playgrounds should be large enough to host state and national-level competitions.Among the key proposals is an Olympic-standard swimming pool with a gymnasium in Mahal, which civic officials said would be the first facility of its kind in central India.
