The Belatali amusement park is now emerging as a tourist attraction of sorts in the district.
The park has a lake spread over two hectares that offers boat rides and a 500 metre walking track.
The amusement park is a part of the initiative taken by Hardoi District Magistrate Pulkit Khare and the Behta Chand gram panchayat.
"When I was posted here, this place used to stink. There was garbage all around and the tiny pond was filled with water hyacinth. Sewage was dumped here and so were unclaimed bodies and carcass. I decided to transform the place and had to convince my superiors and I did it," said the district magistrate.
The officer got the village panchayat to use the MGNREGA and Finance Commission funds to clean and develop the area. They planted 1,000 trees around the lake.
Today, the park has also led to boom for small businesses like fast food, toys, ice-creams etc.
The station house officer of the Kotwali police station, Shailendra Srivastava said: "Earlier, Belatali was known for crime against women and people would be wary of going there due to the presence of anti-social elements. Today, people flock to the park and the atmosphere has changed completely."
( With inputs from IANS )