https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Nageshwara_Rao_ParkNageshwara Rao Park - Revision history2026-11-07T00:09:09ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nageshwara_Rao_Park&diff=519912&oldid=prevJAFMargie385530: Done - done2025-07-22T00:18:58Z<p>Done - done</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2019}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2019}}<br />
{{Infobox park<br />
| name = Desodharaka Nageswara Rao Pantulu Park<br />
| photo = <br />
| type = [[Urban park]]<br />
| location = [[Mylapore]], [[Chennai]], [[India]]<br />
| coords = {{coord|13|2|11|N|80|15|47|E|region:IN|format=dms|display=inline,title}}<br />
| area = {{convert|4|acre|ha|abbr=off}}<br />
| created = 1940<br />
| operator = [[Corporation of Chennai]] <br />
| visitation_num = <br />
| status = Open all year<br />
| embedded = <br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Nageswara Rao Park''' is a {{convert|4|acre|ha|abbr=off|adj=on}} park located on Luz Corner in [[Mylapore]], [[Chennai]], [[India]]. The park, with a separate play area for children, is kept open to the public from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. and is a popular place for morning walks among the locals. The park also hosts music [[kutcheri]]s<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-downtown/california-student-performs-at-nageswara-rao-park/article3755942.ece | title= California student performs at Nageswara Rao Park | access-date=10 January 2019|newspaper=The Hindu|date=12 August 2012}}</ref> and civic forums,<ref>{{cite news<br />
| last = Lakshmi <br />
| first = K. <br />
| title = Cultivating oratory skill at park <br />
| newspaper = The Hindu<br />
| location = Chennai<br />
| date = 6 May 2010 <br />
| url = http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Chennai/article422882.ece<br />
| access-date = 2 Oct 2012}}</ref> on the weekends all year round.<ref>{{cite news<br />
| last = TNN <br />
| title = Green & brown: 2 shades of parks <br />
| newspaper = The Times of India <br />
| location = Chennai<br />
| publisher = The Times Group <br />
| date = 6 May 2010 <br />
| url = http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31807&articlexml=Green-brown-2-shades-of-parks-17122014002011<br />
| archive-url = https://archive.today/20141225190537/http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31807&articlexml=Green-brown-2-shades-of-parks-17122014002011<br />
| url-status = dead<br />
| archive-date = 25 December 2014<br />
| access-date = 25 Dec 2014}}</ref> The park has a badminton court.<ref>{{cite news|title=Health is a walk in the NR Park|url=http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/metroplus/article3832549.ece|access-date=1 Oct 2012|newspaper=The Hindu|date=28 August 2012}}</ref> The park is maintained by [[Sundaram Finance Group|Sundaram Finance]].<ref name="CompostMadeInPark">{{cite news|last=Ramakrishnan|first=Deepa H|title=Compost made out of waste in park|url=http://www.hindu.com/2009/06/07/stories/2009060759470400.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090610135403/http://www.hindu.com/2009/06/07/stories/2009060759470400.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 June 2009|access-date=2 Oct 2012|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=7 June 2009}}</ref> <br />
<br />
{{Short description|Regional tourist place in India}}<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
[[File:Nageswara Rao Park 1.jpg|thumb|Plaque 1]]<br />
[[File:JatinSanghvi-NageswaraRaoPlaque2.jpg|thumb|Plaque 2]]<br />
Nageswara Rao Park was originally called ''Arathakuttai'' (big pond).<ref name="MM_TimeToRestore">{{cite journal | title = Time to restore vanishing water bodies | journal = Madras Musings | volume = XXVIII | issue = 2 | date = 1–15 May 2018 | url = http://www.madrasmusings.com/vol-28-no-2/time-to-restore-vanishing-water-bodies/ | access-date = 21 October 2018}}</ref> In deference to a request by the [[Chennai Corporation]], the owners of the pond, Ramayamma Pantulu, Aravamutha Iyengar and Nainiappa Mudaliar, donated the pond to the civic body for creating a park. After its creation, the park was named after [[Nageswara Rao Pantulu|Desodharaka Nageswara Rao Pantulu]].<ref name="Hindu_WithADashOfGlamour"/> It was opened to the public by [[P. S. Kumaraswamy Raja]], the then Chief Minister of Madras, on 20 October 1940. Originally developed in a much smaller area on Luz Church Road, the park was expanded when more land was donated by Ramayee Ammal, M. Nainappa Mudaliyar, V. Kumaraswamy Raja, Vinjamur Govindarajachari and Aravamadhu Iyengar in the same year. In 1996, the Chennai Corporation re-developed the park and started maintaining it.<ref name="Envis_ParksOfChennai"/> A pond known as ''Aaratha kuttai'' was filled in and made into a garden.<ref name="City360">{{cite news<br />
| last = Karthikeyan <br />
| first = Aparna <br />
| title = City 360 — A walk in the park <br />
| newspaper = The Hindu<br />
| location = Chennai<br />
| date = 28 August 2012 <br />
| url = http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/article3831556.ece<br />
| access-date = 16 Sep 2012}}</ref> It was Nageswara Rao, founder of the neighbouring [[Amrutanjan Healthcare|Amrutanjan factory]], who convinced the local residents to develop the area when the pond began to dry up.<ref name="City360"/> It is in his memory that the park was named after him.<br />
<br />
==Flora==<br />
Tree varieties found in the park include [[Lapostromea]], [[Cassia fistula]], [[Tabulia]] and foliage trees like Pungam, [[Neem]], [[Palm (plant)|palms]], [[Ficus religiosa]] and [[Thespesia]]. Medicinal and ornamental plants such as [[Tabubia]], [[Copper pod]], [[Enterolobium saman]], [[Cassia (genus)|Cassia]] sp. and [[Ixora]] sp. are also found in the park.<ref name="Envis_ParksOfChennai">{{cite web <br />
| last = Amirthalingam <br />
| first = M. <br />
| title = Parks of Chennai <br />
| work = Envis Centre on Conservation of Ecological Heritage and Sacred Sites of India <br />
| publisher = CPREEC <br />
| url = http://ecoheritage.cpreec.org/Viewcontall.php?$mFHxgACv$o49kYS5Naq <br />
| access-date = 4 Feb 2012 <br />
| archive-date = 3 April 2015 <br />
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150403120808/http://ecoheritage.cpreec.org/Viewcontall.php?$mFHxgACv$o49kYS5Naq <br />
| url-status = dead <br />
}}</ref><br />
<br />
==Developments==<br />
In 2002, an initiative named "Project Green Spaces - Dr. Nageswara Rao Park" was started, whereby the park was adopted by the Chennai Chapter of the American Chamber of Commerce in India (AMCHAM). This also included support from the local community, which had donated for the face-lift of the park. The estimated initial costs of the face-lift was pegged at {{INR}} 3 million, while the ongoing costs at {{INR}} 600,000 per annum. The establishment of a corpus fund of {{INR}} 10 million for the upkeep of the park was also proposed.<ref name="Hindu_WithADashOfGlamour">{{cite news<br />
| last = Frederick <br />
| first = Prince <br />
| title = With a dash of glamour... <br />
| location = Chennai<br />
| date = 28 August 2002 <br />
| url = http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mp/2002/08/28/stories/2002082800200100.htm<br />
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20030624054159/http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mp/2002/08/28/stories/2002082800200100.htm<br />
| url-status = dead<br />
| archive-date = 24 June 2003<br />
| newspaper = [[The Hindu]]<br />
| access-date = 12 May 2013}}</ref><br />
<br />
In 2009, a [[compost]]ing yard consisting of three pits was set up at the rear of the park to make compost from the garden waste that are collected from eight bins in the park. The project is funded by Sundaram Finance, which also maintains the park belonging to the Chennai Corporation.<ref name="CompostMadeInPark"/><br />
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==Incidents==<br />
On 7 November 2010, a man was killed while taking a morning stroll on the dedicated track in the park, when a tree branch snapped off and fell on his head after a heavy rain due to cyclone that passed near the city after a gap of 14 years.<ref>{{cite news<br />
| last = Narayanan <br />
| first = Vivek <br />
| title = Uprooted trees, snapped power cables cyclone Jal" leaves its impact <br />
| location = Chennai<br />
| date = 8 November 2010 <br />
| url = http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-11-08/chennai/28213322_1_tree-branch-power-cables-cyclone<br />
| archive-url = https://archive.today/20130104003243/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-11-08/chennai/28213322_1_tree-branch-power-cables-cyclone<br />
| url-status = dead<br />
| archive-date = 4 January 2013<br />
| newspaper = [[The Times of India]]<br />
| access-date = 21 Sep 2012}}</ref><br />
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==See also==<br />
{{Portal|India}}<br />
* [[Parks in Chennai]]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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==Further reading==<br />
* {{cite book | last = Muthiah| first = S. | author-link = S. Muthiah | title = Madras Rediscovered| publisher = EastWest | date = 2014 | location = Chennai | isbn = 978-93-84030-28-5}}<br />
<br />
{{Chennai Topics}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Parks in Chennai]]<br />
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Chennai]]<br />
[[Category:Urban public parks]]</div>JAFMargie385530