E-Paper
Chennai civic body to set up park dedicated to covid victims
Chennai: The Chennai civic body is planning to set up a memorial park for Covid-19 victims in the city, where families will plant saplings in memory of their loved ones who succumbed to the coronavirus, officials said
Chennai: The Chennai civic body is planning to set up a memorial park for Covid-19 victims in the city, where families will plant saplings in memory of their loved ones who succumbed to the coronavirus, officials said.
For the proposed park, the Greater Chennai Corporation has selected a 3-acre empty space under a flyover which turned into a dumping ground.
Officials are also planning to have an obelisk in the park for engraving names of the Covid victims.
“The idea is yet to be approved but the saplings could be provided from government nurseries and each family could be given a unique number; in future they could also add their names to the trees,” said a senior civic official.
Besides being an initiative that’s a reminder for the generations to come on how Chennai, the Covid-19 hot pot in Tamil Nadu, fought the pandemic, the park is being planned to offer comfort to those who are living with the loss and to honour communities coming together to help one another during the crisis. Several countries are planting native trees as a memorial to remember people whose lives were cut short abruptly due to Covid-19.
Since the virus outbreak in March 2020, as many as 8,318 people have lost their lives in Chennai, the highest among all districts in Tamil Nadu. The state death toll is 34,102 as of August 1, according to the health department data.
The proposed site is under Mint flyover in Royapuram, the northern region of Chennai. During the first wave, the Covid-19 caseload was the highest in north Chennai, which is densely populated.
Chennai corporation commissioner Gangandeep Singh Bedi and regional deputy commissioner (North) D Sneha inspected the site last week.
“The components of the Covid memorial park are being discussed and we are coordinating the work between the headquarters and the region (north),” said Sneha. “We have cleared the garbage and debris in anticipation that work will begin soon.” A budget estimate of ₹5 crore has been prepared for the memorial park.
One of Chennai’s oldest civic movements, Exnora International, which has spearheaded tree plantation drives in the city, is for the idea of planting tree saplings. “The trees would be a living memory to Covid-19. Planting saplings also connects people to trees which are being felled everywhere,” said MB Nirmal, founder of Exnora. “Usually, VVIPs plant saplings and it’s good to pass on the ownership to people, so they can take care of these trees.”
