Now, here’s good news for those citizens of Pune who like to roll up their sleeves and enjoy life to the fullest. An adventure park, the third of its kind in the state of Maharashtra, is coming up in the premises of the city’s erstwhile zoo, the Peshwe Park. The initiative intends to develop a spirit of adventure among children and adults, alike.

Work on the adventure park has already commenced from February 12, 2011 and is scheduled to be completed by May 1, 2011. Prior to this, two adventure parks already exist in the state – one at Akola and the other at Lonavla. This park will be the first one in Pune city.

Nilesh Nikam, Pune Municipal Corporation Leader of the House, during his visit to the Akola park, initiated the idea of opening a similar park in Pune. When the decision was finalized, Akola-based Ganesh Fabrication was conferred the task of establishing the park here in the city.

“The park will have games that are specially designed so as to teach the children to take their own decisions in life and emerge successful. We will have games that require physical as well as mental involvement,” says Baburao Deshmukh, who owns Ganesh Fabrication.

Deshmukh further told the media that the officials will also implement appropriate safety measures like safety belts and proper monitoring. “Experts believe that the present generation lacks confidence and strength since parents focus only on the intellectual growth of their children. In the process, the physical and mental growth is completely ignored,” says Deshmukh while emphasizing on the need for such parks.

The upcoming park will have more than 45 adventure games for children aged between 5 and 15. The games that have been designed are a combination of traditional games and adventure sports, and more than 300 children at a time can avail the facilities at the park. The games include sky walking, climbing a 40-foot high wall, net climbing, long and Tarzan jump, pole and rope climbing, rock climbing, flying horse, giant ladder and see-saw, among others. The estimated cost of construction of the entire park is around Rs 1 crore.

These adventure games will infuse in children the ability to face challenges, as the games are aimed at helping the children to overcome fear and tension besides making them active. Adults can also come to the park and have some nice time.

Deshmukh’s Ganesh Fabrication has considerable experience in creating parks of various kinds, and the group has already created a snake park, an amusement park and a water park at Akola.

“Pune city needed an adventure park for children. Physical and mental activities are very important for an overall growth of any child. Nowadays, extra burden of studies, and computer games have made children physically as well intellectually restrictive. Parents must support this initiative and make sure that children indulge in any kind of physical activity every day,” says Swati Desai, a resident of Shivaji Nagar.

- Siddhartha Laik