The park in Sector 9, Chandigarh, on Wednesday. (Express photo by Jasbir Malhi) The park in Sector 9, Chandigarh, on Wednesday. (Express photo by Jasbir Malhi) As the country celebrated the birth anniversary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on Wednesday, his memorial at Lily Garden in Sector 9, the place where the first Prime Minister of India first envisioned a modern city in post-independent India — Chandigarh — remained surrounded by garbage and wild growth. The only visitors at the memorial on this day were stray dogs roaming in the garden. From here, Nehru had seen the layout of Chandigarh from an observatory on April 2, 1952. After his death, a 30-feet-high tower and a memorial was laid. The words engraved on a black stone, etched in his memory, too have lost the legibility. It specifies, “Jawaharlal Nehru saw the layout of Chandigarh from this spot on April 2, 1952.” On the other side, it is stated that the memorial was inaugurated by Dr M S Randhawa, Chief Commissioner, on February 27, 1967. Anant, a washerman who runs his business exactly opposite the memorial, said that nobody even bothers to clean up the place. “Desh ke pehle Pradhan Mantri ne shehar ko yahan se dekha tha….unhi ki yaad mein ye kala pathar laga hai. Kam se kam yahan to safai honi chaeye…. (The country’s first Prime Minister had seen city from this spot…this black stone is had been put in his memory. At least this place should be cleaned,” the washerman said. Col Harjit Singh, who stays opposite the garden and was having a stroll there, said the state of this place speaks for self. “You can see how garbage is piled up and it is totally in a state of neglect.” Some workers who were basking in sun, playing cards, feigned ignorance. This time, the Congress city unit also didn’t hold any event here on Nehru’s birthday. They held events at Congress Bhawan and Ram Darbar, while Congress leader Manish Tewari held an event at Manimajra. Reacting to the state of Nehru’s memorial, Congress Chief Pardeep Chhabra said, “We got this memorial renovated four years back. The administration doesn’t pay attention at all. Not just Nehruji’s memorial, but the complete city has been lying in a state of neglect because of the BJP.” A senior official of the Horticulture department said that they maintain the garden well. “We have a gardener there. Still if the condition is bad, I will get it checked tomorrow,” the official said. Local BJP Councillor Mahesh Inder Sidhu said that they have been maintaining the garden and will make sure that something is done for the memorial. For all the latest Chandigarh News, download Indian Express App

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