Jogger's Park is a seaside jogging track along with a park in Bandra, Mumbai. It is situated next to the Otters Club, off Carter Road. The park was opened to the public on 27 May 1990 and receives more than 2000 visitors on weekdays and double the number on Sundays. Its jogging track is 400 metres long. It features a mud strip for running and two paved tracks for walking or jogging.
Development of the park is credited to the city's veteran hockey coach and former corporator, Oliver Andrade. Andrade transformed the site from a dumping ground into a jogging track with financial assistance from the Rahejas, the Lokhandwalas and the Rizvi builders at a cost of INR4 crore. In his memory, a plaque at the entrance of the park reads "From Sir with Love". Mumbai's first laughter club was launched at Joggers Park.
Video Jogger's Park
History
Joggers Park was conceived by Oliver Andrade of Bandra, Bombay. Oliver Andrade was fondly called "Sir" as he was responsible for coaching Hockey and Football to thousands of students of St. Stanislaus High School and Sacred Heart High School. Andrade wanted to develop a park for the citizens on a plot of land facing the sea in Bandra, which had turned into a dump yard over the years. He approached various eminent citizens of Mumbai, notably, Sunil Dutt, Dilip Kumar and pursued with various local and state authorities to get his plan sanctioned. As soon as he received a go-ahead from the authorities, Andrade raised money for the park by convincing the leading three construction companies who were located in Bandra. As a result of his effort, Lokhandwala Builders agreed to develop the cost pro bono. The external wall facing the sea was developed pro bono by Raheja Builders and Rizvi Builders. The founders of all these companies were former students of Andrade and they were happy to invest money in a cause that was for the citizens of Bombay.
Maps Jogger's Park
Park Management
The Lokhandwala family agreed to manage the day-to-day operations and maintenance of the park. The family's trust Bombay Suburban Civic Trust was the official caretaker of the park, having obtained the rights to manage the park from the Bombay Municipal Corporation. art
Takeover by the Mahanagar Corporation of Greater Mumbai
The MCGM formerly known as Bombay Municipal Corporation or the BMC, took back the control of the park from the Bombay Suburban Civic Trust on 31 January 2017. Citizens and joggers were alarmed by the sudden change and takeover. They feared that the park will now be ruined.
Entry Fee
The Park does not charge an entry fee since 1 February 2007. When the park was inaugurated, the entry fee was INR1 which was increased to INR2 a decade later. The original timings of the park (until 31 January 2017) was 5:30 AM to 9:30AM and 3:30PM to 9:00PM. However after the takeover by the MCGM, the cooling time in the afternoon has been withdrawn and the park is open from 5:00AM to 9:00PM. Citizens are unhappy with this change, arguing that the afternoon shutdown period is essential for the maintenance of the park and its flora and the jogging tracks.
Save Joggers Park
Citizens and Joggers got together on 2 Feb 2017 under the banner of a spontaneous movement to save the park. This movement evolved into the Save Joggers Park Group which is pursuing the agenda of the upkeep of the park. The Save Joggers Park group has roped in thousands of patrons and users of the Joggers park. They have also initiated dialogues with elected representatives, Municipal authorities and officials of the Garden department of MCGM.
References
Source of article : Wikipedia
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