Nehru Park, Burnpur

Nehru Park is located on the banks of the Damodar River at Burnpur, a neighbourhood in Asansol in the Indian state of West Bengal.EtymologyThe park was formally named Riverside Park when laid out by a German general manager of IISCO named F.W.A.Lahmeyer. So wide was the appreciation that the common people started calling it Lahmeyer Park. In the birth centenary year (1989) of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, it was renamed Nehru Park. A cast iron statue of Nehru, cast at Kulti Works, then part of IISCO, was installed in the park.DescriptionThe park was developed on the banks of the Damodar, retaining the undulating terrain of the area. A small stream flows through the park. The slopes have been utilised to develop gardens and walkways. A musical fountain has been added and is operated on weekends and Thursdays. There is a restaurant in the park and picnic spots are earmarked. There is a nominal entrance fee. One big pond is there inside the park with boating arrangement for the visitors. Big Grass Crap fishes are found inside the pond.ConnectivityNehru Park is at the far end of Burnpur. It is about 14 km from Asansol railway station. Taxis and autorickshaws can be hired at Asansol/ Burnpur for a return trip. There is a manned stand for two wheelers. Minibuses plying from Asansol up to Riverside (via Burnpur) drop/pick up visitors near the park entrance gate. Country boats are available near the adjacent pump house and near the airstrip (about 2 km away) for crossing the Damodar and visiting the Saltora area in Bankura district. Water level in the river depends upon the season. In dry season one may have to walk a considerable distance over the sand bed, to get to the boat.