Renovated Bal Bhavan with toy train to open in March

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Children visiting the Bal Bhavan, Cubbon Park, will now be able to take a joy ride in the ‘putani train’ or toy train. The Bengaluru Smart City Limited has taken up the work of restoring the Bal Bhavan.

The company has roped in the South Western Railways (SWR) to repair the tracks for the train that has remained unused for several years now. The agency has allotted over Rs 12 crore to upgrade other spots around the park such as the island which was originally built for boating but is currently in very bad shape.

The company has also assured that it would introduce various other activities for children who visit the park such as a science park, and adventure sports like wall climbing and zip line. The summer camp areas are also being upgraded. The agency is also mulling exposing the city children at the park to rural games.

The new facilities, once set up, will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. The inauguration is likely to happen around the second week of March. An indication of the popularity of the park, during the weekdays, the park sees a footfall of over 2000 children while on the weekends it receives over 5000-7000 children.