Kerala invites tenders for 1st phase of Gender Park

Kerala's first Gender Park is set to be a reality with the state government inviting tenders for the construction of its first phase in Kozhikode district, officials said.

The Gender Park, initiated by an autonomous institution under the Department of Social Justice, is envisaged to bring together state, academia and civil society on a common platform on the issue of gender touted as the first such in the country to resolve the gender equity in development.

The construction of the park is planned to be carried out in five phases and the first phase is expected to be completed within 15 months, an official said.

"We have invited tenders for the construction of the first phase. A total of Rs 13.5 crore is expected as an approximate budget for it," park's CEO PTM Sunish said.

"After the completion of the tender processes, the construction will begin in a 5.5 acre land at Vellimadukunnu in Kozhikode," he said.

As part of the first phase, a convention centre of global standards, an amphi-theatre, museum, library and an administrative block would be set up besides landscaping.

An array of facilities, including an exclusive writers' village for women, research and business centres, anganwadis and residential complex, would also be set in a 24 acre-land in the later phases, he said.

Facilities such as women's short-stay home, old-age home and childcare centre, all located at Vellimadukunnu, would be upgraded along with the construction of the Gender Park, the official said.