Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Friday unveiled details of his party’s proposal to create a public garden on the 225-acre land that is in possession of the Western India Turf Club. The 99-year lease of the racecourse ended on Friday.
Mr Thackeray said he will hand over the proposed plan to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan in the next couple of days. He also clarified that he had never demanded that the proposed garden be named after his father Bal Thackeray. “I am making this demand for the common people,” he said.
Urging the state government to not renew the 99-year lease, which ended on Friday, with the Royal Western Indian Turf Club (RWITC), Mr Thackeray reiterated that his party was firm on its demand for a state-of-the-art garden in place of the racecourse.
The Sena President said that he has prepared a proposal to have an “international standard theme park” on the lines of London’s Hyde Park.
“I will be submitting a plan in this regard to the CM. We want a theme park here. The race course can be shifted outside the city,” he said. He added, “We have waited for 99 years for this, (lease’s end) and this is a great opportunity. We can build a theme park for the common people and it can also serve as a major tourist attraction,” the Sena president said. Mr Uddhav said that the BMC has already begun work on what could be done on racecourse land. “We have prepared a tentative proposal that may not be final as it could undergo changes. What we are proposing is dividing the park in to various zones, like one devoted to health and fitness where you could have a jogging track, rock climbing, aroma therapy and hold health camps. One part could be for entertainment like water falls, amphitheatre, water sports, kite festival and horticulture,” he said.
He said that the racecourse is meant only for a chosen few and that in other countries such events are held outside the city. “I would like to tell the government that this is a once in a life time opportunity and we should not waste it. Politicians only go to people during elections. This is a chance for us to do something when there are no elections,” he added.