Children’s park in Yelagiri Hills to get a facelift with tourist-friendly facilities

The project comes after Tirupattur Collector Amar Kushwaha made a surprise visit to the park a few days ago; he had instructed the park authorities to prepare a list of amenities that are required in the park

The children’s park and gym at Yelagiri near Tirupattur will be renovated with tourist-friendly facilities like food courts, reverse osmosis water taps and modern toilets.

This comes after Tirupattur Collector Amar Kushwaha made a surprise visit to the park a few days ago. “We have been instructed by the Collector to prepare a list of tourist amenities that are required in the park. Work on the new facilities will start soon,” said K. Dinakaran, Block Development Officer (BDO), Jolarpet.

The new features for tourists will include walkways, play areas for children, open-air gym equipment, compound walls with artwork, landscaping and planting of indigenous tree varieties along with basic toilets and drinking water facilities.

The renovated park will also have food courts, mainly to cater to the needs of tourists before they travel on the hills that has 14 hairpin bends. A tiled walkers’ path, which has been damaged, will also be rebuilt. The park will also get CCTV cameras to ensure the safety of visitors. Security personnel will also be deployed round the clock.

Unlike previous plans that have remained in cold storage, officials have been asked to fast-track the execution of the new project within the stipulated time to attract more tourists. Prior to the pandemic, over 20,000 tourists, from places including Bengaluru, Coimbatore and Chennai, visited the hills during the weekends.

At present, work on a open-air stadium, boat houses, multiple parks, a botanical garden, additional accommodation for tourists and better connectivity in terms of frequent buses with better roads is under way in Yelagiri Hills.

Spread over 80 acres in Pallakanniyur village, a tribal hamlet on top of the hillock, the open-air stadium consists of a separate space for volleyball, football, badminton, cricket, basketball and a swimming pool. The stadium garden is being readied on a 25-acre plot of land in the hamlet.