Nageswara Rao Park on Luz Church Road in Mylapore has reopened after an ₹8.49-crore renovation by the Greater Chennai Corporation, adding upgraded walking infrastructure, landscaping, a children’s play area, an open badminton court and rainwater-management facilities.
Food and Civil Supplies Minister P. Venkataramanan inaugurated the renovated park on Friday and planted saplings on the premises. The Chennai Corporation said the four-acre park will remain open from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.
According to Chennai Corporation Commissioner G.S. Sameeran, the project includes a 1.6-km-long footpath, landscaping with 28 varieties of plants, a 7,532-square-foot children’s play area, an open badminton court and two fountains. Toilets have also been developed at the front and rear of the park.
The renovation includes a 1,076-square-foot swale area for rainwater management. Swales are landscape features designed to help collect and manage surface water, making the facility’s drainage function part of the park’s renewed infrastructure. The work was carried out under the Namakku Naame scheme on the heritage premises.
The reopening also restores a link to the park’s history. Nageswara Rao Park was opened on October 20, 1949, by P.S. Kumaraswami Raja, then Premier of Madras. The Corporation has restored the plaque installed at the entrance to commemorate that opening.
Historian V. Sriram said the site was originally a tank connected to the Long Tank of Mylapore. He said water once reached the location through several channels before continuing towards Mylapore. After the Long Tank area developed into T. Nagar in the 1930s, the water supply to the site gradually declined and the tank became dry.
Sriram said historical records later described the location as a dump site before the land was donated to the Corporation. The land was given by K. Ramayamma, wife of K. Nageswara Rao Pantulu, along with M. Nainiappa Mudaliar and G. Aravamuda Aiyangar.
The park has long been used as a neighbourhood leisure space and is also known for civic forums and musical performances. Its reopening therefore combines the restoration of a heritage public space with new recreational and landscape facilities.
Former councillor S. Mangala Raj said the park should remain open from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. in line with a Chennai Corporation Council resolution. He said residents had complained about parks being closed early and argued that restricting access could prevent people from using the facility during permitted hours.
The Corporation’s stated operating schedule gives residents access during the morning and evening periods, when parks typically serve walkers, families and other recreational users. The next operational priority is to maintain the announced timings and ensure that the renovated facilities, landscaping, toilets and rainwater-management features remain usable as the park returns to regular public use.
