Kolkata:

One of the most famous landmarks of the city — Golpark — has received a fresh coat of paint and much more. Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture was entrusted with the maintenance of the park and boulevard. The beautified Golpark was thrown open to Kolkatans by Swami Sarvabhutananda, secretary of Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, recently.

The ceremony, held on the occasion of Buddha Purnima, marked a prayer to Swami Vivekananda, whose statue has adorned the park since 1961. “In 2006, KMC gave us the responsibility for maintenance of the park and nearby boulevard. In these years, we have tried our best. Now, with Times Foundation, we have been able to restore it to its full glory,” said Swami Sarvabhutananda.

The project was started around two months back with the nod of KMC. The renovated park has three illuminated fountains, 1000 terracotta lamps that glitter in the dark and special lighting arrangements for Swamiji’s statue. The garden in the park has been beautified with seasonal flowers and trees to add to the greenery. For the adjoining boulevard, artisans from Hooghly’s Champadanga were brought in to make fibre models of humans and animals, now kept in display for those passing through.

The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture has been doing yeoman’s service to the city and those living in its vicinity. The institute provides milk and biscuits to nearly 950 pavement-dwellers living nearby. Scholarship worth Rs. 30 lakh is provided to deserving students every year.

The institute is planning, in its own way, the 150th anniversary celebrations. “We want to adopt slums and work for their integrated development. Several projects are being worked on to spread the message of Swamiji as well as help the downtrodden people by working on his ideals,” Swami Sarvabhutananda said.

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