Vasna barrage to house city's biggest fountain, like Singapore's Merilion

Heritage and recreation committee members were asked to come out with a list of locations in the city where massive fountains like that of Singapore's Merilion can be erected.

"We want some iconic attraction for the city now. We already have Kankaria Lakefront and Sabarmati Riverfront which have some attractions. Kankaria doesn't attract much tourists anymore as such, so the Vasna barrage area — which is spread over a vast area — looks like an ideal spot to build iconic attractions," said Jignesh Patel, chairman of the heritage and recreation committee, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, on Friday.

"We are planning to come up with a fountain like that of Merilion in Singapore and an amusement park-cum-village like that of Imagica world, near Vasna Barrage," added Patel. At present, there are two amusement parks at Kankaria Lakefront, with a total of nine joy rides.

The chairman pointed out how there is only one spot in the city that offers joy rides, that too with very limited varieties. Therefore, something on the lines of an amusement village must be built in the city. The Vasna barrage is one such place where such parks can be developed.

"We want to give people more options than Manekchowk and existing tourist places in city. Out city is heritage city but also a developing one which needs modern infrastructure. We are looking for other options also for tourist attractions," said Patel.

Last year, the civic body had decided to construct a huge aquarium at Kankaria. The plan was scrapped later since another similar project was being worked on by the state government at Science City, which is mostly likely to be inaugurated in a few weeks.

The chairman said that they have also decided to give a makeover to all the existing gyms in the city.