Panagal Park is a park and a locality in Thyagaraya Nagar,

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. The park is named after the Raja of Panagal, the Chief Minister of Madras Presidency who created the park. It is an important junction and is the commercial centre of T. Nagar.

History

When the Long Lake on the western peripheral region of the old city was drained out and the area of T. Nagar was newly carved out of the existing neighborhood of Mambalam in 1923, a park was developed in the centre of the new locality intended to be a residential one. The park was named Panagal Park honouring the then Chief Minister of Madras, the Raja of Panagal. In the early days, there was a public radio inside the park to cater the visitors who gathered there to listen to music and news and stayed till the last news broadcast at 7.15 p.m. The architect of Panagal Park was Ganesh Iyer.

The park

The park covers (19,434 square meter) and has three entry points. As of 2019, the park has about 218 trees, including

gulmohar ''Delonix regia'' is a species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae native to Madagascar. It is noted for its fern-like leaves and flamboyant display of orange-red flowers over summer. In many tropical par ...

neem ''Azadirachta indica'', commonly known as neem, nimtree or Indian lilac, is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of two species in the genus '' Azadirachta'', and is native to the Indian subcontinent and most of the countries in Afr ...

peepal ''Ficus religiosa'' or sacred fig is a species of fig native to the Indian subcontinent and Indochina that belongs to Moraceae, the fig or mulberry family. It is also known as the bodhi tree, pippala tree, peepul tree, peepal tree, pipal tree, ...

, almond, big-leaf mahogany, mast trees, and West Indian elms.

Renovation

In 2008, the Chennai Corporation started renovating the park at a cost of 13 million. The renovated works included construction of children's play area and public convenience ( 1.182 million), beautification of the three entry points ( 2.281 million), development of lotus pond and sitting gallery ( 2.881 million), construction of walkways ( 4.370 million) and development of landscaped lawn ( 2.418 million). The renovated park was reopened on 21 February 2010.

Metro rail construction

Of the 19,434 square meters of the part, the Chennai Metro Rail requires 3,069 square meters of land for the metro rail project, which will be given back to the park once the construction is completed. Of the 218 trees, 87 will be cut down for the project.

Commercial establishments

Panagal Park is a landmark to many commercial establishments and department stores. Almost all the shops offering Textiles and Jewellery are concentrated on South Usman Road and Ranganathan Street. Several high-end retail stores surround the park, including

Saravana Stores Saravana Stores, founded in 1969, is a chain of retail stores in India. It is the largest family owned business retail chain in India. According to Kishore Biyani of Big Bazaar, it is India's No. 1 retail store in one locality. Locations Sara ...

, Lalithaa Jewellery, Nalli Chinnasamy Chetti,

Pothys Pothys is a chain of textile showrooms in South India. Originally they exclusively sold silk sarees, but today all types of garments are sold. The flagship store in Chennai is called Pothys' Palace. History Pothys (stylised as POTHYS) was ...

, RMKV, and Sri Kumaran Silks. There are two educational institutions of repute around the park apart from commercial establishments, Sri Ramakrishna Mission Higher Secondary School for Boys and Sri RKM Saradha Vidyalaya Girls Higher Secondary School.

Roads

Six arterial roads radiate outwards from the park: * North Usman Road goes north towards Kodambakkam * G N Chetty Road goes northeast towards Gemini Circle * Thyagaraya Road (known as

Pondy Bazaar Pondy Bazaar, officially called Soundarapandianar Angadi, is a market and neighborhood located in T. Nagar, Chennai. It is one of the principal shopping districts of Chennai. Etymology The market ‘Soundarapandianar Bazaar' was named after ...

) goes east towards Teynampet Signal * Venkatanarayana Road goes southeast towards Nandanam Junction * South Usman Road goes south towards

Saidapet Saidapet, also known as Saidai, is a neighbourhood in Chennai, India, situated in the northern banks of the Adyar River and serves as an entry point to Central Chennai. It is surrounded by West Mambalam in the North, C.I.T Nagar in the North ...

* Doraiswamy Road goes west towards

West Mambalam West Mambalam is a residential and commercial area in Chennai, India. It is known for its shops, bazaars and Hindu temples. It is bounded by Kodambakkam to the north and Saidapet to the south. T. Nagar and Nandanam stretch all along its easte ...

References

{{Chennai Topics Parks in Chennai Tourist attractions in Chennai Urban public parks