Illuminated by the glow of amber light, replicas of famous monuments from around the world, the ‘Seven Wonders Park’, near the Sarai Kale Khan transport hub are a hit among thousands of visitors.
“If not for this, I would probably be at home,” said Seema, a resident of Dwarka who had brought her children to view the spectacle on Sunday.
Selfie time
Each monument gets its own display, with mounds having been created so as to block the view of the next site. Visitors click selfies by standing near the the Eiffel Tower, Christ the Redeemer, the Statue of Liberty, the Roman Colloseum, the Leaning tower of Pisa, the Taj Mahal and the Pyramid of Giza, all made of recycled scrap material.
“I have heard that it had all been made of waste and wanted to show the children,” said Seema, who held no illusions that it was the real thing.
After entering through a large gate, which prominently carries the seal of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, a path winds up to a lush landscaped area which holds no clues that it stands on a reclaimed landfill site.
“It is a small place but is very nicely made,” said Devki Sharma, another visitor, who, with her friends was busy clicking pictures at every turn of the pathway.
The park also has seating areas, open lawn space, gazebos, and a large open square at the end of the path.
Director of Horticulture, Alok Singh said that an average of about 10,000 people visit the park on the weekends, with the numbers likely to go down in the summer. The total collection, since the park opened in Februray has been over ₹1 crore, Mr. Singh said. While some of them attempted to climb on to the structures, security guards stationed across the park keep a check on this, ready to slap them with a fine of ₹1,000 for touching the sculptures.
Professor at the School of Urban Planning and Architecture, Mouslhri Joshi, said that it is good that spaces that are either non-ticketed or has a low entrance fee came up in the city, especially for families and young people to occupy, given that public spaces that have come up in the recent past were limited to malls. While saying that she hasn’t critically examined the park as of yet, she termed it a “spectacle” akin to pop art, which could probably do with a little subtlety.
All is not well
However, all is not well outside the park. Area police, who did not want to be named, said traffic management has become a major cause of concern, especially on the weekends. While the parking lot has space for about 50 cars, the police said that about 400-500 cars turn up on weekends causing major traffic issues in the area.
They added that since the park had opened, the number of people in the area had swelled up. Incidence of crime and untoward incidents had also risen.
Municipal authorities have also come down heavily on street vendors in the area. Praveen Kumar, who claims that he has been engaged in street vending at Sarai Kale Khan for the last 25 years, said that vendors from the park till the railway station were cleared off in a major drive about a month ago. The area police also confirmed his claim. Since then, authorities had confiscated Kumar’s goods on at least two occasions, he said.
However, this has not discouraged scores of vendors, who had set up shop at the entrance of the park. Snack and other confectionery shops find ready customers in visitors to the park.
