Initially when the park was conceptualised in the early 1990, it was known as Robot Park due to presence of robot-like iron structure slide inside. Some locals even called it as Ravana Park, referring to the demoniac look of the robot.
Now, with the robot gone over the years, the new transformation as the park is rechristened as Saheed Nagar Parks, but the vestiges of the robot could also be found on the open air art gallery as a graffiti wall themed Rs Robot in the wild.’
Yes, welcome to Saheed Nagar Parks, part of the Smart Parks inaugurated by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday. It is in fact a continuous stretch of four parks measuring just under 6,000 square meters with an equal width of 20 meters and varied lengths spanning from 50 meters to 111 meters, which has taken the new shape and ornamentation.
As part of the vision to develop Bhubaneswar as a child-friendly city, the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) through its Bhubaneswar Urban Knowledge Centre (BUKC), identified six open spaces or mostly defunct parks to demonstrate re-development into smart parks and recreational places for children. The city has collaborated with Netherland-based Bernard van leer Foundation and National Institute of Urban Affairs for developing the Temple City as a child-friendly urban centre.
Based on the suggestions from stakeholders including children groups and data obtained through field survey, BUKC team, aided by international urban designers and landscape experts from IBI Group, designed the smart parks incorporating as much facilities to turn these as active places for children, universally inclusive for all and promoted as learning and recreational centers, with features like children’s play area, smart toilets, splash parks, open gyms, watch towers and outdoor sports facilities etc.
The four adjacent rectangular open spaces separated by by-lanes were designed into a single connected recreational space developed on four themes ‘Get Creative’, ‘Get Rest’, ‘Get Wet’ and ‘Get Smart’. Cutting off the separating by-lanes in the design not only addressed the primary issue of speeding vehicles endangering safety of movement of children but also made the entire stretch into a single unhindered pedestrian and bicycle transit zone. Along with the continuous walking and jogging track connecting all the four themed zones and facilities such as water taps, toilets and Wi-Fi spots, this smart park has been designed with low boundary walls and ramps enhancing security and accessibility features.