Neglect, encroachments mar Shalimar Bagh’s glory

For decades, Pyara Lal Panchi had been a regular walker at Kapurthala’s glorious Shalimar Bagh — the lasting symbol of Kapurthala’s erstwhile glory, a garden built by the royals flanking the Baradari, celebrating the town’s rich architectural legacy.

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Weakening eyesight caused Panchi to stop taking his morning walks at the garden. But the rot had set in much before that. The garden — a morning walker’s paradise — was no longer fit for a stroll.

Rampant encroachments, garbage dumps and an ever-present stench have caused the formerly verdant gardens — now increasingly overtaken by rooms, offices, eateries and other encroachers — to become too unkempt and chaotic for even a leisurely stroll.

Hundreds of walkers earlier frequented it on the slow, green, softly sunlit Kapurthala mornings. Noise, stench, smoke and chaos have now stolen away that softness — another Kapurthala landmark biting the dust of so-called modern development.

Significantly visually impaired, elderly Pyara Lal Panchi, a social activist and announcer at Kapurthala, says, “I stopped going to the bagh five years ago. The reason was my deteriorating eyesight. Not that I liked seeing what was happening to the bagh, either. Five years ago, the rot had already set in. About a decade ago, it was a princely morning walk. Sprawling, green, tree-lined gardens — walk wherever you want. Sit on the raised platform, pay homage at the samadhis. But then it began to be heavily encroached and garbage piles began accumulating. It is ironical how everyone wants a piece of something beautiful — so that they can turn it ugly. Some eateries came up, a college claimed its own land and a senior citizens’ section (rooms) also came up. It was no more that quaint, interference-free walk. They broke the stage (raised platform) in the gardens to host melas (fairs) for which they put up noisy, smoky generators. No one wants to walk at such an intrusive place. Most morning walkers have ceased going there.”

Subhash Makarandi, another former morning walker at the Bagh and a social activist known for his dedicated plantation drives, said, “Ab to bahut pareshani hai (now things are very difficult at the Shalimar Gardens). We have walked there during times when the walkways were lined with huge mango and jamun trees. Everything was green. People have stopped going there for walks as it’s no more fit for a stroll. It smells. There are garbage piles near the Senior Citizens’ Club and the Shani Temple. Government garbage vehicles are parked there and it has been turned into a site for other vehicles’ parking. Earlier children played there — now even they don’t go.”

Makarandi adds, “The heritage department got the tombs restored a couple of years ago and the place was also painted. But then no one is placed to ensure further upkeep. Shalimar Bagh has turned into a den of miscreant elements. Stray dogs also discourage morning walkers.”