Rajendra Maidan in Kochi being restored to its exalted status

The ₹95-lakh restoration work is in its final stages; GCDA plans to throw the facility open to the public this month

After being stripped of its rightful space in the cultural and political landscape of Kochi for an ill-advised laser show that bottomed out way too quickly, Rajendra Maidan, the hallowed and historical public space owned by the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) is being restored to its exalted status. The facility will be opened to the public later this month.

Landscaping work is in the final stages, and the priority is to throw it open to the public coinciding with Valentine’s Day on February 14. However, a final decision is likely to be taken in a day or two after a review of the work, which was launched less than a month ago.

The initial move to restore the maidan had to be delayed after the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) opposed it saying that the equipment for laser show could not be removed as it had to be confiscated as evidence in a case registered in connection with the show at the Muvattupuzha Vigilance Court. GCDA complied and even allotted a room at its Kaloor international stadium to the investigative agency for the safe-keeping of evidence where it presently remains.

“The restoration work costs around ₹95 lakh. The goal is to restore as much greenery as possible and reduce tile work to the bare minimum. A pond dug on the maidan for the laser show has been filled and made part of the lawn. A new toilet has also been set up, while the previously existent open stage has been recreated,” said GCDA sources.

Once opened, Rajendra Maidan will be made available for public events as in the past. In fact, the idea is to make it the preferred destination for cultural fetes on the lines of Changampuzha Park at Edappally. However, whether to allow free access as in the case of Changampuzha Park or to charge a nominal fee will be left for the executive committee of the GCDA to decide.

Rajendra Maidan was closed to the public and converted into a venue for a paid laser show by then governing council of the GCDA in October 25, 2014. But it turned out to be an unqualified disaster as it downed the shutters a little over two years later in December 2016. In that short period, it incurred the GCDA a mammoth loss of ₹3.44 crore while bringing only a paltry ₹28 lakh in ticket revenue, as revealed by a Right to Information Act application.

An attempt to resume the show did not materialise, since by that time, a Vigilance case was registered, and the technology per se had become outdated incapable of offering the public visuals matching modern-day standards.