PLANS are underway to waive the entry fee at the iconic Water Garden in Manama in a bid to attract more visitors.
The Capital Trustees Authority has been charging 300 fils for entry since reopening the garden after a massive revamp in January this year.
The authority’s director-general Mohammed Al Sehli is now seeking more activity in the garden by allowing more people in through waivers.
The Capital Trustees Board, in its meeting yesterday, approved fee waivers for people suffering from disabilities, the elderly above the age of 60, children below the age of five, school and university students, and ministries and government bodies. Joggers and light sports’ lovers will also be exempted from 5am to 7am, they said.
The beautiful park, a favourite hangout of citizens and residents, was set up in 1948 in the Capital Governorate. It was shut down in 2017 after it was deemed unsafe. Renovation was in the pipeline for several years, but authorities had to wait for the investor’s lease to expire. Work finally commenced in 2019 and the revamp was completed this year at an estimated cost of around BD3.2 million.
Mr Al Sehli, however, disagreed with the board on providing fee waivers to all students, ministries and government bodies – asserting that such a ‘blanket exemption’ would cause confusion.
“Students should be allowed to claim waivers only if they are part of a field trip or university group and are not just picnicking during the weekends,” he said.
“The university or institution should also provide a list of names to caretakers at the garden,” he added.
“Programmes planned by ministries and government bodies should be subject to our approval as we cannot allow individuals to roam around in the garden for free just because they flaunt their government identity cards.”
He said special waivers for community societies and organisations could also be given, adding that exemptions for every group should be time-bound.
Board chairman Saleh Tarradah backed the waiver, while also indicating the need for more attractive and financially-viable packages to lure visitors.
“At the moment, those who are not eligible for waivers will have to pay 300 fils for single entry; but we should also consider packages like 100 tickets for BD25 to encourage frequent visits to the place,” he said. “This can be tested at the Water Garden and expanded in the Capital Governorate and across Bahrain’s gardens and parks.”
He also added that payments could be done electronically through the ministry’s new app for gardens or BenefitPay.
Mr Tarradah said green spaces and recreational facilities have become more important than ever for physical and mental health of people as countries develop at a rapid pace.
According to him, renovation designs – which include a sports area and walkways – were in line with Manama’s ‘healthy city’ designation by the World Health Organisation in 2021.
Manama was the first capital city in the Middle East to receive the honour as part of WHO’s Healthy Cities Programme launched in 1986. The project’s vision was to maintain the original spirit and feel of the place, in line with goals to protect green spaces, local trees and water bodies – the two lakes – as part of the revamp. The decision will be ratified by Municipalities’ Affairs and Agriculture Minister Wael Al Mubarak and published in the Official Gazette.
mohammed@gdnmedia.bh
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