Rose Fest under HC scanner

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 23

The wilting away of merriment during the Rose Festival with the setting up of eatable and ice-cream stalls that prick the eyes of visitors was today brought under the High Court scanner, with the filing of a petition in public interest.

Aggrieved by “highjacking” of the Rose Festival for making it a “mela”, Prof RD Anand minced no words to say the UT Administration, the Municipal Corporation and another respondent had since last year “insensitively” permitted eatables, ice-creams and other stalls within the Rose Garden, making it a “huge flea market”. A news report carried in these columns was also annexed along with the petition.

In his PIL placed before the Bench of Justice SS Saron and Justice Sneh Prashar, Anand through counsel Puneet Sharma, prayed for directions to the respondents against organising fairs and melas and to preserve the “purity of the purpose behind its creation”.

Taking up the petition, the Bench put the Administration and other respondents on notice for March 8. Elaborating, Anand contended that the Rose Garden, Sector 16, was envisioned and assiduously designed with great effort and diligence by Chandigarh’s first Chief Commissioner, Dr MS Randhawa.

He added that huge areas were covered under tents and kiosks during the Rose Festival. He was pained to see the “bad shape” in which the garden was left after the conclusion of the three-day festival, with garbage all around.

Seeking directions to the respondents to restore Rose Garden to its original form, he reiterated that it had lost its beauty and exclusivity on account of the festival, which was more of a fair.

Directions in the nature of prohibition were also sought for restraining the respondents from conducting “such miscellaneous activities” during the Rose Festival within Rose Garden.