KARACHI, May 19: The development, rehabilitation and reconstruction work on the Polo Ground that started in September last year is going on at fast speed and most of the work has been completed, said an official, adding that the Rs150 million project was expected to be completed and opened to the public in June.

Responding to Dawn queries, a KMC spokesperson said that Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad had laid the foundation stone of the development works on the park located at a corner of Aiwan-i-Saddar Road and Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Road in the city centre.

The park also houses the historical Eidgah, where one of the largest congregations of the city is held twice a year on the occasion of Eid and top government officials, foreign dignitaries and elite of the city offer Eid prayers with the public.

He said that under the development works a new musical fountain costing around Rs40 million was to be installed in the centre of the 20-acre park.

He said that the musical fountain would be surrounded by steps where over 2,000 park visitors could sit at a time.

“Four canopies are also being constructed in the park where visitors can sit and enjoy the relatively cleaner environment right in the centre of the pollution jungle,” he added.

He said that walking / jogging tracks / pathways were also being constructed to provide facilities for healthy activities to the people.

A new boundary wall with iron grilles was being built so that motorists or the people using the footpaths / roads outside the park could also enjoy the beautiful view of the greenery inside the fence.

He said that around 1,000 new six-foot-tall trees that had been grown in nurseries of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation would be relocated here to provide shades to visitors on hot sunny days. After the construction work was completed, gardening and plantation would be carried out, he added.

Following the country’s nuclear tests in the Chaghi hills in Balochistan, a monument replica of the hills was also constructed in the park, but after some time a mysterious fire destroyed the replica.

Owing to shortage of open spaces and playgrounds in the vicinity, children living in nearby localities come to the park in large numbers in evenings to play football, cricket, and other outdoor games.

The park also houses a Baradari where an underground car park has been constructed to accommodate over 600 vehicles. In the olden days polo used to be played in the park, hence the name Polo Ground, however, that sport is no more played here.