Chennai Corporation scraps exclusive pet parks

Pet-owners in the city were excited at the prospect of having a pet park under the Smart City initiative. The park would have features such as green cover, ramps, drinking water arrangements for the dogs and artificial obstacles. But looks like the Corporation has scrapped that project because it was deemed “unnecessary” at the moment.

A Corporation official said, “The pet park was only under discussion and plans were still in the nascent stage. Nothing was decided. The Corporation will not be taking up the work any time soon because the time for such a project is not ripe.”

The Corporation’s sensory park, which will come up in Santhome at an estimated cost of Rs 1.37 crore, is a specialised, inclusive park for children with disabilities, with features such as sensory garden, accessible play area, tactile sculptures, textured touch-pads, magnifying glass screens, braille signage and audio induction loop descriptions. Corporation officials pointed out that the sensory park is a model, which once established will be extended to other parks, to ensure accessible play spaces for differently-abled children.