 "Rajasthan CM inaugurates Rs 120 crore park for coaching institute students")
Rajasthan's Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot unveiled a sprawling 30-hectare park built at a cost of Rs 120 crore to provide a serene and stress-free environment for coaching institute students, according to a report by PTI.
Named the "OxyZone City Park Garden of Joy," this park has been designed to offer a respite from the rigorous academic schedules that students often face. The park's construction began in February 2020 under the Urban Improvement Trust.
This news comes amid a rising number of student suicides in India's coaching hub. As of September 13, the number of deaths by suicide has risen to 25 this year.
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On average, more than 200,000 aspirants head to Kota in Rajasthan, making for a Rs 5,000 crore a year business. Most of these aspirants are class 11 and 12 students.
This initiative is part of the government's commitment to creating a place for coaching students to unwind, rejuvenate, and connect with nature.
The inauguration ceremony witnessed the presence of notable figures, including Assembly Speaker CP Joshi, Urban Development and Housing Minister and Kota-North MLA Shanti Dhariwal, Education Minister BD Kalla, and the Congress' Rajasthan unit chief Govind Singh Dotasara.
After the ceremonial unveiling, Chief Minister Gehlot toured the OxyZone City Park Garden of Joy in a tourist cart while the chief architect highlighted its features.
The park boasts a 1,200-meter-long canal, embellished with approximately 200,000 shrubs, green ground cover, seasonal flowers, and around 20,000 trees. It can serve as a habitat for 200 species of both foreign and domestic birds, making it a nature lover's paradise.
The chief architect described the park as a biodiversity masterpiece, emphasising the connection between humans and nature.
The park was inaugurated a day after the Chambal riverfront. Chief Minister Gehlot, who was initially scheduled to inaugurate the Rs 1,442-crore project, cancelled his visit to the city at the last minute.
Both projects come months before the Rajasthan State Assembly Elections slated for the end of this year or early 2024.