It is a garden only in name. Hyderabad’s most famous recreational spot is losing its sheen and lung space at an alarming rate. Home to more than half-a-dozen institutions, Public Garden is getting hemmed in by the day. There are more concrete structures than greenery here – making a mockery of the objective with which the ‘Bagh-e-Aam’ was created by the Nizam.
If you are looking for the beautiful flowers to lift your spirits, banish the idea. More buildings than buds greet you here. The Chinese garden has given way to an open air theatre while the rose garden is taken up for road widening. A beautiful lake has vanished over the years without a trace. And so are the migratory birds. Public Gardens is no longer the tranquil retreat it used to be. Interestingly, it is not unsocial elements, but the powers that be which are responsible for the shrinking garden space. Concerned members of the Public Garden Walkers’ Association have petitioned the Lok Ayukta to restrain the government from undertaking further construction here.
Ghulam Yazdani, senior advocate and president of the Association, has urged the court to prohibit the government from undertaking any structures in the Public Garden. The walkers are concerned about the proposed move by the government to shift the Nizam era nursery to make way for a new building for the Legislative Council.
The Municipal Administration and Urban Development has allotted land to the nursery on the Necklace Road. “At this rate nothing will be left in the Public Gardens leave alone its charm and glory,” rues Mr. Yazdani. Not long ago when the protocol building came up close to the Jubilee Hall, some morning walkers filed a writ petition in the High Court and the latter directed the authorities to restrict the construction to half its size.
Walkers feel the recreational area has come down sharply due to coming up of the Telugu University, Lalita Kala Thoranam, Indira Priyadarshini auditorium, Bal Bhavan and the Protocol building.
